


Accidentally in Love

by GoddessOfDestruction



Category: GOT7
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Angst, Chauffeur Mark, Dance Teacher Yugyeom, Discrimination, Domestic Fluff, Elementary Teacher Youngjae, Established yugbam, F/M, Fashion Designer Bambam, Fluff, Freelancer Teacher JB, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Lawyer Jinyoung, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PE Teacher Jackson, Past Emotional/Psychological Abusive Relationship, Romance, Smut, established markjin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-10-14 14:12:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10538139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoddessOfDestruction/pseuds/GoddessOfDestruction
Summary: Choi Youngjae, elementary school music teacher, makes the mistake of lying to his family, saying he has a boyfriend. When his parents tell him they’re coming over to meet said boyfriend, Youngjae panics. That is until he meets Jaebum.Im Jaebum, freelancer music teacher, struggles with finances; too little money, too many bills to pay. When he first put the ad on Craigslist, offering his services as a fake boyfriend, he thinks it’s a great idea. That is until he meets Youngjae.They were not supposed to fall in love with one another, but oh well, that's how their story started.





	1. Dreamin'

**Author's Note:**

> Just a note, so that this doesn't get mentioned in the future:
> 
> >Elementary students' classes usually start at 8 AM and end at 3 PM (not counting extracurricular activities or extra classes that students take).  
> >Elementary school in South Korea encompasses 1st to 6th grade. They only start taking Music classes from 3rd onwards and they learn to play traditional instruments.

Youngjae is fresh out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist as he rifles through his closet, picking out his clothes for another day of work. He usually plans his outfit the night before (there's not much to plan, though; he always wears the same outfit), but last night his housemates practically dragged him out the door for a night out (today’s Friday; couldn’t they have waited another day?). He grabs a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt and starts getting dressed. Bambam’s loud grumbling and Coco’s barks carry Youngjae, now only in boxer briefs and socks, to the kitchen.

“Tell your dog to stop following me,” the skinny Thai complains.

Youngjae sighs as he picks up the adorable white furry being, gently scratching behind her ears, “She’s just hungry, Bam.”

“Well, feed her then.”

“Would it kill you to feed her while I get dressed?” Youngjae says, putting the dog down on the floor to fill her bowl with some kibbles.

Bambam leans against the kitchen counter, glaring the dog as she eats, “She hates me, why should I feed her?”

“She hates you because you squeeze her head,” Youngjae points out as he’s returning to his bedroom. “I’d hate you too if you’d do that to me.”

Youngjae is in the living room not much after, shirt neatly tucked in his pants, hair 2:8 side-parted, bringing a black blazer that he drapes over the couch's back, and before tending to other things he still has to do, he makes sure that his shiny black dress shoes are on the shoe rack by the front door. He walks to the CDs rack on the corner of the room and starts picking a few of his CDs to take to the class. He lends them to his students; the Principal isn’t a fan of the idea. And it’s not like he likes Youngjae that much in the first place (if he ever learns about his two tattoos and his sexual orientation, then he’ll hate him for good).

Teaching at a private school in Gangnam is great, especially if you’re a recently graduated teacher. However, teaching at a private school in Gangnam means teaching upper class children whose parents pay big money to send them down the success’ path. Many of Youngjae’s “liberal” teaching methods are not appreciated by his fellow teachers or the Principal. They say he “smuggles western culture into the children’s brains” but all he does is show them that classes don’t have to, and cannot be, standardized, using preformatted books. Especially music classes. So, at the end of every class, he lends CDs to the kids, so that they can listen to every music genre that there is. (They end up reading the track list on the back of the CD’s case and downloading the songs because no one owns a CD player these days).

“Gyeom?” Youngjae calls out and only carries on when a black-haired head pops out of the kitchen’s door, “I’m borrowing one of your Chris Brown CDs.”

“They scratch it, you pay it,” the maknae warns, going back to his breakfast (and to his boyfriend).

Youngjae rolls his eyes as he orients the CDs into a single stack and crosses the living room to put them in his satchel. He checks if he has everything he needs for the day and then joins his housemates in the kitchen, to have breakfast. He’s eating and distracting himself with his phone because he doesn’t want to deal with Yugbam’s morning PDA. Deep down, he knows he doesn’t want to deal with it because he’s single. The fact that he’s always surrounded by children and straight people makes Youngjae realize how starved of a male companionship he’s becoming. Bambam has tried to set him up with people he knows but he always makes up a lame excuse and evades going on dates with them.

 _(“You know I’m not one for one night stands or short-term relationships,” Youngjae argues in his defense._  
  
_“How do you expect to have a relationship of any kind if you treat every guy I introduce you to like a leopard?”_  
  
_“Leper, babe,” Yugyeom corrects, “Treat them like a leper.”_  
  
_“Whatever. You know what I mean, he knows what I mean, baby Jesus kno -"_  
  
_"Baby Jesus? Aren't you Buddhist, Bamie?" his boyfriend speaks again._  
  
_"I'm trying to make a point here," Bambam is mildly upset that his boyfriend is having fun by systematically correcting - interrupting - him. "All I'm trying to say is," he turns to Youngjae, "if you want dick, you have to go look for dick.")_

“Oh no,” Youngjae blurts out suddenly, staring at his phone. His mother’s text is from last night and he's so screwed. “My parents are in town and want me to have dinner with them,” he looks up, panic written all over his face.

“And you’re panicking because…?” Bambam asks.

“Because they want me to take my boyfriend too.”

Yugyeom speaks, rather upset, “You have a boyfriend and you didn’t tell us?”  

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend. I told my parents that I do, but I _don’t_. What do I do? How am I gonna find a guy to be my pretend boyfriend in less than a day?”

“Tinder,” Bambam says.

To which Yugyeom argues, “Grindr’s better.”

“Tastebuds.”                           

“You can always try Facebook.”

“Or go outside with a sign –”

Youngjae rests his forearms on the table and drops his head over them. Choo-choo, all aboard the Mock Youngjae train!

“Craigslist!” Yugyeom sounds so excited about it, “You know, one time I saw this ad of a guy who –”

“Might as well tell them that I don’t have a boyfriend and that I’ve lied to them,” Youngjae mumbles, face still buried in his arms.

“Hyung,” Bambam puts a hand on his arm and shakes him; he’s being serious now, “I can call some guys I know and I think I can find you someone till the end of the day.”

“Yeah,” Yugyeom says, “and if he can’t, I can try too.”

Youngjae raises his head and sighs, “Thanks guys but I think the best is to tell them the truth.”

He gets up and puts his dishes in the sink. He mutters a non-enthusiastic “ _I’m off to work_ ” as he’s leaving the kitchen.

“Let us know if you change your mind,” Bambam manages to put in before the front door closes.

~x~

The morning commute isn’t something that Youngjae appreciates. Today’s morning commute is the worst (not even the morning when the subway station was two feet underwater was this bad). All he can think about are Yugyeom and Bambam’s suggestions, and the fact that his parents are expecting their picture-perfect son to introduce them to his boyfriend. He seriously doesn’t know what he should do. He opens the App Store twice, each time determined to download a dating app, but gives up both times. He ponders calling his parents and tell them that he’s going to a teachers’ conference, but he knows he’s a terrible liar and that his mother would see right through him.

He almost misses his stop, lost in his thoughts. He hurries to door, unintentionally elbows a couple of people and pushes another dozen out the door. He apologizes but doubts anyone heard him. The red in his cheeks from the embarrassment doesn’t leave his face for a good ten minutes. Youngjae makes it to Gangnam Elementary, early as usual (he may not be a morning person but he’s never late), and goes straight to the classroom. He sits at his chair, satchel carelessly thrown over the desk, and before he knows it, he’s on Craigslist. He doesn’t know how to navigate in the website but he finds himself in the right section pretty quickly. He still can’t believe he’s doing this but he figures finding a random guy here is better than calling Bambam and have the bad luck of being paired up for the evening with a guy he has rejected, and it’s definitively much better than having to tell his parents the truth. 

Youngjae feels embarrassed for having blushed after seeing this guy’s [photo](http://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s480x480/e15/11373686_1178564782160316_1040884847_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=MTA1OTEyOTc4MjQxMDEzNjY0OA%3D%3D.2). Thank God he’s alone. Before he knows it, he’s reading the ad. Biting his bottom lip, Youngjae feels very tempted to call this chic and sexy freelancer music teacher Im Jaebum. He feels so, so tempted that doesn’t even realize he’s already calling him. He presses the phone against his ear and hopes that he doesn’t pick up. Deep down Youngjae hopes he picks up or else he would have hung up by now.

“Hello?” a husky, sleep-laced voice says.

Youngjae swallows hard, his dick twitches. Is this normal? Is it normal to be turned on by someone’s voice?

“Hello?” he repeats, this time sounding somewhat impatient.

“Uh – yeah – hi, hello,” Youngjae is stuttering and seems to have forgotten how to breathe, “I’m – uh – calling because of the – uh – ad you put –”

“Ah, that,” Youngjae hears him turning – or sitting up – in bed. Great, now he feels bad for having woken him up. “Tell me, what can I do for you?”

“I told my parents I have a boyfriend and now they're in town and –”

“Say no more,” he smiles and Youngjae can literally hear him smiling. He tries to imagine his smiling face in his head and it's absolutely ridiculous that he feels happy with that mental image. “Can we meet up later today to hash out the details and whatnots?”

“My shift only ends at 3,” he says in a low, apprehensive tone.

“Fine by me. Choose the meeting place and text it to me.”

“Ok.”

“Your name is? So I can save you in the contacts,” he feels the need to explain.

“Youngjae, Choi Youngjae.”

(He mispronounces his surname, he realizes, but as Jaebum doesn't say anything, he figures he has understood him just fine)

“Alright. I’m Jaebum, but I guess you know that already. Text me then.”

Youngjae squawks an “ _ok_ ” before hanging up. He dives into another realm of existence and only returns to the reality of the classroom when his students are walking in.

“Are you alright, Professor?” a little girl asks.

He wonders what his face must look like for one of his students to pose such question.

“Yeah, I just…” Youngjae stops talking, noticing that the whole class is already in the room. “Do you remember the voice warmup exercises we learned about last week?”

The reply comes in the form of a chorus of “ _yes_ ’s” and a couple of nods.

“Alright, can you warmup your voices then? I’m just going to the bathroom, ‘k? Be right back.”

“Are we singing today?” one of his students – Youngjae's messed up brain can't decipher who it is – asks just as he’s about to leave.

“Yeah,” he hurriedly replies and exits the room, leaving behind an excited class of third graders.

Youngjae carefully plans each class with a week in advance. Today’s class involved no mentions of singing but a two minutes conversation with Im Jaebum has thrown Youngjae completely off the track.

~x~

When the bell rings and announces recess time, Youngjae gathers his things and makes the way to the teacher’s lounge. He desperately needs to talk with his friend, the PE teacher Jackson Wang. He shows up some five minutes (for Youngjae it felt like five hours) after the bell rang, and after greeting every single person (Jackson is so friendly it becomes annoying sometimes) he goes to serve himself some tea. (No coffee for the health-maniac-Jackson, thank you). Youngjae gets up stealthy and corners him against the counter.

“I need to talk with you,” he whispers.

Jackson knows it’s serious. When something is bothering Youngjae he doesn’t talk about it; he just gets really quiet and hopes someone notices it and asks him what’s wrong. Jackson links arms with him and pulls him to a quieter corner of the room, only letting go of him when they sit down. 

“Spill it out, otter.”

“I’d really like if you’d stop calling me otter. I –”

“Whatever. What’s wrong?”

Youngjae finds the uneven surface of the table particularly interesting and runs his index finger over the small scratches on table top. One would think Youngjae is mustering up his courage but Jackson knows he’s stalling.

“Choi Youngjae!”

He takes a deep breath and begins to confess his brilliant deed, “You remember me saying that I lied to my parents about being single –”

“Still think that’s stupid. What’s the problem with telling them you’re single?”

“When your parents won’t shut up about your siblings’ perfect relationships and keep on asking why you’re still single, you eventually get fed up and get yourself an imaginary boyfriend.”

“What does that have to do with – wait, your parents found out? What happened?”

Youngjae sighs, eyes focusing on the table again, “My parents are in town and want to have dinner with me and my non-existing boyfriend.”

“Carry on,” Jackson spurs. 

“And I may have done something I’m starting to regret…?”

Jackson rubs his forehead, “I don’t like where this is going.”

“So I, uh, asked Bambam and Yugyeom how could I get a boyfriend in less than a day and they said Tinder –”

“Please tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t… But I went on Craigslist and –”

“You _what_? Jesus Christ Youngjae!” Jackson’s eyes are almost bulging out of his skull. “You could have asked me and I’d be your pretend boyfriend for the night.”

“You’re my friend. It’d be weird.”

“Right. ‘Cause finding a stranger on Craigslist and introduce him to your parents as your boyfriend is normal!”

“It’s just for a night.” Youngjae heaves another long sigh, “With Jaebum –”

“Oh, we’re on first name basis already?”

“Jackson,” he whines. “What I’m trying to say is that, because we’re friends, I could never use the ‘we broke up’ card –”

“Why would we break up?” he seems offended. “Am I not boyfriend material? Is it because I’m bisexual?”

“That’s not the point, Jackson.”

“Then what is the point? Why couldn’t I be your fake boyfriend?”

“I don’t plan on being single forever. When I do find someone, you and I would have to “ _break up_ ”” he air quotes, “and do you think my parents would find it normal that I’d be friends with my ex?”

Jackson shrugs, “There’s tons of people who are friends with the exes. I, for instance, am friends with my exes.”

“You’re friends with everyone.”

Jackson lets that sink in; it’s true and he doesn’t even try to deny it. “Ok, moving on. Can I at least see the guy’s ad?”

The school bell rings. Youngjae doesn’t have a class now. Jackson does. And right now Youngjae just hopes that he decides to leave because this conversation with him isn’t going as he imagined.

“Uh, don’t you have a class to teach?” Youngjae asks.

“The kids can play tag for five more minutes. Show me the guy’s ad.”

Youngjae pulls his phone out of his pocket and shows Jaebum’s advertisement to Jackson.

He’s reading, emphasizing the ad and all that, “ _Want to skip that long, insulting conversation about how you're still single?_ _Want to make your ex jealous of having dumped you? Well, look no further! I'm Im Jaebum, a freelancer music teacher who struggles to pay the bills, and I can be your platonic boyfriend. I require no pay but the free meal I will receive as a guest! (However, if you do offer me money, I won’t refuse…) I can do anything at your request, except sex. Give me a call,_ blah, blah, blah,” Jackson skips his phone number and checks the photo of the alleged Jaebum. “Have you seen this guy’s photo?”

“Yeah,” Youngjae blushes a little. “He’s –”

“A fraud! I seriously hope that that is what you were gonna say,” Jackson glares him. “He’s _too_ good looking” he’s practically shoving the phone in Youngjae’s face; he doesn’t mind seeing Jaebum _that_ close, “to be true, Youngjae. Have you called him already?”

“We talked this morning and set up a meeting to –”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Jackson isn’t one to swear but the situation seems more than adequate. “He can be a sexual predator! He can abduct you! I’m going to that meeting with you.”

“Thanks, but I can look after myself. Besides,” he snatches his phone from Jackson and points at the screen, “he wrote here that he doesn’t do the sex part –”

“Yes, and I always read and agree with the terms and conditions. People lie on the internet! Seriously, Youngjae, do you need to go take the internet safety classes with the kids?” Jackson breathes thoroughly, trying to calm down. The shit’s done already, might as well help Youngjae deal with it the best way possible, “When is that meeting?”

“Today, after my shift’s over.”                    

Jackson’s scratches the blond hair of his nape, “Dammit. I have zumba classes but -”

“We’re going to a coffee shop nearby,” he says, having already decided that much. “Even if he’s a sexual predator, he won’t do me any harm in a public place.”

“That’s what you say but –”

“Professor Wang?” someone says, interrupting Jackson. The two teachers look at the door where they see one of the school’s workers. “Your students are waiting for you for a while now.”

“He was just about to leave,” Youngjae speaks, pressing a hand on Jackson’s back and forcing him to get up, “right?”

“Right,” he grins at the man and then turns back to his friend. “This conversation isn’t over.”

~x~

Youngjae decides to make use of his time waiting for Jaebum to grade a few of his students’ assignments but, due to nervousness, he’s basically flipping through papers, reading the same thing over and over again. He had texted Jaebum during his lunchtime (more like hide-from-Jackson-time) the time and place of their meeting and expects him to show up any moment now. His phone buzzes over the table and Youngjae quickly checks the text.

**Im Jaebum**

>What are you wearing?

_15:44  
_

I don’t do this kind of thing!?!?<

_15:44  
_

>I’m almost at the coffee shop.

>Gotta find you, right?

>Or do you want me to shout your name?

_15:45  
_

There are moments when Youngjae questions his intelligence; this is one of those. This guy writes on his ad that he does everything but sex and his first assumption is that he’s sexting him. He just wants to punch himself.

Right…<

Sorry about that!<

_15:47  
_

White shirt, black pants. I’m at one of the tables in the back.<

There’s a hipster sitting next to me if it helps.<

_15:48  
_

>Be there in 10.

_15:48  
_

Youngjae begins to gather pretty much all of his satchel’s contents that he has somehow managed to scatter all over the tiny table. He’s leisurely sipping on his coffee and trying to organize the papers into stacks (Jaebum did say ten minutes, right?) when a someone creeps up on him.

“Choi Youngjae?”

He looks up, and, no shitting, his whole body spasms, paper sheets falling on the floor. He’s here! Youngjae is still recovering when Jaebum takes a seat across from him, handing him the papers that he had dropped. He has this smirk on his face (he seems pleased with himself for having startled him?) that makes him look like an asshole, but Youngjae doesn’t find him an asshole? If anything, he finds him even more attractive, and he’s left staring at him. He knows he's staring but he can't help it. Not when the man before him has a jawline chiseled by the Gods, black hair pushed back, two little moles on his upper left eyelid, ears (heavily) pierced, long neck, prominent Adam's apple, broad shoulders, little fingers, nice lips, gorgeous smile. It's unbelievably stupid how thirsty he has become. ("It’s not that unbelievable," he hears Bambam's voice narrating his thoughts. "When was the last time you had sex?")

Youngjae blinks hard and looks away, trying to stop cataloging his body attributes, because he's 99,9% sure Jaebum is straight and has fucked more women than his fingers could count. Besides, even if he were gay, he's requesting a service from him (God, that sounded so wrong; he's not an escort... at least that's what he emphasized in the ad).

"How fast can I make it to the door?"

"Five, ten seconds if you run," Jaebum says.

Youngjae freezes from head to toe, "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah," a smile is tugging on the corner of his lips.

Jaebum is the front row spectator of _50 Shades of Red_ starring Choi Youngjae.

He covers his face with his hands and groans, "I'm sorry. I'm so nervous. I’ve never done this before."

"It's fine. It's totally fine,” Jaebum grabs his wrists and pulls his hands away from his crimson face. “You're not the first person that has been this nervous."

"Have you ever had other guys being like this?" Youngjae asks, looking down at the table because he can't bear to look at Jaebum.

"Actually, you're the first guy that's ever –"

Youngjae mewls. Could this get any worse?

"And do you feel ok doing this with a guy?"

"I'm gay, so..."

This just got a lot worse. Not even a minute ago, Youngjae was sure Jaebum was straight and yet he was eye-fucking him so hard that he has no idea how come he didn't feel uncomfortable and now he knows he's gay and he just wants to smack his head against the nearest wall and knock himself unconscious.

Jaebum grabs Youngjae's cup of coffee to throw it in the trash bin (ignoring the fact that it still has coffee) and tells him, "I'm getting something to drink. What do you want?"

"I'll have whatever you're having," he mumbles, still feeling embarrassed.

(In a while Youngjae will have a sip of what is the bitterest coffee he ever tasted, he'll pull a funny face and they'll both laugh.)

Youngjae looks so mortified that Jaebum doesn't contest his reply and walks to the counter. However, he didn't get up with the excuse of buying drinks just for Youngjae's sake. He too is dying. Youngjae is the most adorable, attractive person he ever laid eyes on. Jaebum is crushing harder than a 12-year-old girl and he couldn't care less. But the thing is, he _has_ to care, he _has_ to pull himself together because Youngjae is only looking for a fake boyfriend to take to the dinner with his parents and nothing else. Jaebum looks back, watching him clumsily putting his things back in his satchel, his whole face bright red. He looks so cute all flustered like that that it makes him smile. Fuck, this is bad! He's so fucked. He's so fucked that when the girl behind the counter asks him what he's ordering he says " _fuck_ ". Luckily, she doesn't understand him and asks him to repeat. Jaebum is back after a short while with two cups of espresso that have no sugar. Youngjae looks more composed now and the first thing he does after Jaebum takes a seat is, of course,

“I’m sorry for being so awkward.”

“It’s fine,” he offers a full-teeth reassuring smile. “Let’s get to the details of our alleged relationship?” Youngjae only nods, causing Jaebum to continue, “Ok, so, let’s go straight to the basics: how did we meet?”

Youngjae blows out a breath of air; not quite a laugh, but close, “I’m terrible at making stuff up.”

“Alright. Should we go with work?”

“Um,” something clicks in Youngjae’s head, “you’re a music teacher, right?”

“Freelancer, but yes. And you?”

He grins, proud, “I’m a music teacher too! At Gangnam’s Elementary.”

“Ok, then we can roll with that. So we met at work, say 5 months ago?”

“5 months,” Youngjae repeats and takes a sip of his coffee. He almost spits it directly into Jaebum’s face. “Is this burnt coffee?”

Jaebum is doing the best he can to hold back his laugh but fails, “Sorry. I like coffee with no sugar. Want me to get you something else?”

“No, I think I can get used to it,” he clicks his tongue, tasting the draft of bitterness in his mouth, “eventually.”

The two laugh heartily.

“Ok,” Jaebum resumes, “tell me about your family; parents, siblings, anything.”

“My parents’ names are Eunju and Junghoon. I have a hyung, Youngjin, and a noona, Younghee. Um,” he hums while thinking, “I grew up in Mokpo but moved to Seoul during my college years and ended up staying. I share an apartment with two other friends who try their best not third wheel me. Yugyeom is a dance teacher and Bambam is a fashion designer. He’s Thai by the way,” Youngjae adds. “And, of course, I have a Maltese dog, Coco. And you?”

“You can make up whatever you want about me. I’m the one who needs to get the facts straight.”

“Yeah, but do you remember me telling you not even five minutes ago that I’m terrible at making things up?” he laughs and Jaebum crushes even harder (if that’s even possible). “Feed me all the lies you want but at least give me something to memorize.”

“Alright,” Jaebum shifts in his seat, getting comfortable, “I’m from Goyang and I’m the only son, which is the equivalent of saying that my parents were graced with the perfect son the first time around.” Youngjae laughs loudly, whole heartedly, and Jaebum thinks that his laugh could make flowers grow. “They own a restaurant there and my father wanted me to take over the family business but, just like you, I move here to study and ended up liking the city. I’ve taught at a school for only a year before realizing that the school system sucks and so I give private lessons at my students’ homes or at this improvised rock school I managed to put together on the second floor of a Chinese restaurant. The owners hate my guts because I teach guitar and drums and the kids tend to get a bit too excited,” he smiles; Youngjae does too. “I live alone, well, with my cat, Nora. I too have two friends who date and try their best not to make me the third wheel but fail miserably at it. Jinyoung is a lawyer. He did this student exchange thing in high school and stayed with the Tuan’s for almost a whole year. He kept in contact with their son Mark for a long time, and one day, almost out of nowhere, Mark’s in Korea and they’re dating. He works as a chauffeur. Bet his parents are super proud of their son who ditched everything to follow a guy to a different country and to drive people around.”

“I guess that’s true love,” Youngjae says with a small smile.

“Well, they have been together for four years now, so I think I can agree with you on that.”                          

For the sake of being able to keep an uninterrupted conversation with Jaebum (and for the sake of his mental sanity too), Youngjae turns off his phone; Jackson hadn’t stopped texting and calling him.

“You can pick it up, no problem,” Jaebum says when Youngjae’s phone rings for the nth time.

“No, it’s fine. It’s just a work friend. I told him I was coming to meet you and he was super worried. He kept on saying that you could be a sexual predator and that you were going to abduct me.”

Jaebum refrains himself from saying what is going on in his mind because he has had this stupid thought of being able to shove Youngjae in his pocket and take him home with him.

“He’s just being a good friend,” he says instead.

They chat, being more and more at ease with each other. Youngjae and Jaebum are no longer _just_ talking about their fake arrangement but they’re talking about everything and anything, and they lose track of time. It isn’t until Youngjae notices Yugyeom entering the coffee shop that he checks what time it is. Yugyeom always has to get a cup of coffee before going to the Dance Academy for the dance classes. His lessons start at 7, and if he’s here, then it means he and Jaebum have spent almost three hours talking!

“So, I’ll – uh – text you,” Youngjae is all shy and awkward again, “once I know what time the dinner is and where it will be.” 

“Alright,” Jaebum stretches out his hand. “It was really nice meeting you, Youngjae.”

Youngjae shakes Jaebum’s hand and tries to ignore how firm but at the same time gentle his grip feels, “Likewise.”

“See you tomorrow.”

When Youngjae replies, Jaebum is already out the door.

~x~

Youngjae only turns his phone back on when he’s at home. He has 31 missed calls and 73 unread messages from Jackson. It somehow warms Youngjae’s heart knowing that Jackson is the kind of friend that you can call at 3 in the morning, asking for help, and that he’ll be there in a heartbeat. He decides to give him a call, to keep him from worrying. As soon as he picks up, and for the following minutes, Youngjae keeps his phone at an arm’s length and he can still hear Jackson being his usual loud, hyperverbal self. Once he’s sure the word vomit has stopped, Youngjae presses the phone against his ear.

"Are you done?"

Jackson sounds clearly out of breath, "I was about to call the police, Youngjae. You could have texted me saying you were alright."

"I know, but you were being a pain in the ass."

"I spend a whole afternoon sick worried about you and you call me a pain in the ass. That’s fine. Anyway,” Jackson continues, "how was it?"

"Well, for starters, Jaebum is exactly the same as he is in the ad's photo."

"You're shitting me, right? He's _real_? All _that_ is real?"

"Oh, he's 100% real. He's really good looking, and he's so charming -"

"I'm sorry,” Jackson cuts him short, “I thought this was a business-kinda-type meeting. Why do you sound like you've just been to a date?"

"He's really nice, like, you have no idea," Youngjae whines because it's unfair how smitten he is.

"I'm starting to wish he had abducted you."

Jackson is being sarcastic but Youngjae is clearly not as he replies, "Me too."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Jackson is shouting. Again. Youngjae is partially deaf for the next minutes.

Bambam opens the front door and walks in.

“I have to go now,” Youngjae says which isn’t completely a lie.

“Don’t you dare to –”

Yes, Youngjae not only dared to hang up on Jackson but he even rejects his next five calls. Via text, Youngjae threatens to turn off his phone again if he doesn’t stop calling him. Jackson, a bit reluctantly, complies.

“I have this guy ready to be your date for tomorrow. All you have to do is say the word and he’s available,” Bambam tells him.

Youngjae decides not to tell Bambam about Jaebum because A, he doesn’t want to inflate his ego by telling him he followed his and Yugyeom’s suggestions, and B, because Bambam looks like he’s about to pull his hair out in clumps. It must be terrible to be an amazing fashion designer, to create all these great pieces of clothing and accessories and then have your boss sign your stuff and take all the credit for your work just because he’s a renowned designer and you’re his employee.

“I think I’ve found a solution, but thanks anyway,” Youngjae simply says as Bambam takes a seat next to him. “But, tell me, how was your day? You have that happy-pissed off look on your face.”

“Thanks. I’ll take it as a compliment, and you wanna know why?”

“Why?”

“Because today I only imagined how it’d be to murder everyone in that atelier four times. It’s a progress, right?”

Youngjae chuckles, “Yes, it’s a progress. I think your record is still of 15 imaginary homicides in only half day.”

“Ah, I remember it,” Bambam says longingly as if he’s recalling a really good moment of his life. “That was during Seoul Fashion Week. And to think I used to like it.”

They order tteokbokki and fried chicken and keep on eating and chatting until Yugyeom arrives from the Dance Academy. After taking a shower, the maknae raids the fridge and joins them in the living room. Youngjae excuses himself not much after, giving the couple some privacy, and takes his dog with him to his bedroom. He lies down over the duvet, having Coco lying on his chest. He grabs his phone and debates whether or not he should search Jaebum on any social media he knows. He knows he’ll be basically stalking him, but Jaebum will probably do (or has already done) the same, for the sake of their cover story, so why the hell not?

Youngjae begins with Facebook. He types ‘Im Jaebum’ on the search bar, and, as he expected, many people pop up. None of the profile photos match Jaebum and Youngjae is definitively not going to be opening all profiles. One photo, however, catches his attention. He can’t completely see the man’s face because a cat is blocking him. He remembers Jaebum saying that he has a cat so he opens that profile. Bingo! It’s Craigslist’s Im Jaebum. His Facebook page isn’t that interesting, Youngjae soon acknowledges, but he finds out that Jaebum has a YouTube channel where he uploads guitar and drum covers. He swoons a bit, like a teenage girl. He saves the channel’s name for a future search and decides to explore his Instagram account. His username is Def_Soul and his bio reads, “ _Let’s work hard. Be a man! Be righteous like a tiger._ ”

Youngjae has no idea what he’s got himself into. He spends the next hour scrolling through his photos, drooling and cooing and admiring all of them.

There are pictures of his cat, Nora. He laughs because of a [photo](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bi7spWICEAA70V4.jpg) of the furry thingy all twisted, his heart melts with the cute [photo](http://s2.narvii.com/image/dp53xvynp5seqc25fijkcyejutjk66z4_hq.jpg) of Nora sleeping in Jaebum’s lap. Youngjae learns that Jaebum has a [tattoo](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/49/21/99/49219941359f5b7fc3e413e65fc22401.jpg) on his right forearm (which he didn’t see when they met because he was wearing a long sleeved sweater) and that he seems to have a thing for piercings, mostly [ear piercings](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkH3dg9WEAAqj8k.jpg); he has three on his left ear, and four on the right. ( _Lucky me_ , Youngjae thinks, _I have some myself_. He then proceeds to mentally kick himself; _why are you doing this to yourself, Youngjae? He’s not gonna like you. Stop it!_ ). When he gets to the [photo](https://68.media.tumblr.com/13b3efb3ef68d8cb5803b94e4359efd9/tumblr_okm9a4btEe1uo490ro9_400.png) where Jaebum has a fake lip piercing and asks his followers if he should get a real one, Youngjae wants to comment ‘ _YES!’_ fifty times in a row. (He mentally kicks himself again. Call it whatever you want – a ‘thing’, a ‘kink’, a ‘lustful attraction for’ – but Youngjae never thought he felt those things. Or that he had _a type_. Jaebum, however, makes him feel those things.) By now, Youngjae has scrolled through enough photos by now to know that Jaebum has dyed his hair in several colors, and how the hell do all of them suit him? He has dyed it [blonde](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/72/f6/97/72f697b7266b4ebca90e739d6db52fb4.jpg), [gray](https://i.imgur.com/nJ2pEa4.jpg), [black](https://68.media.tumblr.com/3fd78ab86adf3d747cd1ecc2962cc53d/tumblr_ohtwxlqYot1tsvl0ko1_500.jpg) and [brown](http://data.whicdn.com/images/232436663/large.jpg). He’s a real knockout with [longer hair](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfa1/t51.2885-15/s320x320/e15/11242673_1577832482486865_181103891_n.jpg) but looks equally tempting with his [hair pushed back](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e15/11313258_876881489060348_149895747_n.jpg).

He learns that he’s left-handed from a [photo](http://wallpaper-gallery.net/images/guitarist-wallpapers/guitarist-wallpapers-11.jpg) of him playing guitar, and that, apart from already by musically gifted, he’s also a b-boy. The [photo](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6b/33/f3/6b33f3b689f4dbc5bcea98ca185b2485.jpg) he thanks his friend Mark for having taken leaves Youngjae jaw dropped. A [photo](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hUEl_PmBBIU/maxresdefault.jpg) that Jaebum has posted (complaining about being the third wheel) leads Youngjae to conclude that these are the friends he talked about, Mark and Jinyoung. The three seem to go back a long way, proved by a hilarious, and seemingly old, [photo](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7Z484zCUAAxJqY.jpg) of him and Jinyoung, and [one](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b0/ab/b3/b0abb3502e49c887a5a1960361de172a.jpg) with Mark who isn’t bad looking either.

He looks downright [adorable](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e4/12/9a/e4129a8bf9c199442bd653395d318280.jpg) (and [hot](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjQGUNRXEAAZQT4.jpg:large)) with a cap and he even looks good [posing](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f9/7d/d1/f97dd11056d854d71469d9dca7308f98.jpg) with a goddam cup of coffee. He looks so [soft and boyfriend material](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d4/a6/ba/d4a6ba522c41e5a3ac4777c2d27d8100.jpg) that Youngjae wants to cry. When he sees a [photo](https://secure.static.tumblr.com/d9cd1cf51ec81f22a9d3c859324967b3/xd3auqk/ZzJo27uo4/tumblr_static_tumblr_static_5hxiz2si14cow0cwogk8sk4ok_640.jpg) with the caption “ _When your friends are jerks and leave you in the rain_ ” Youngjae seriously considers if he isn’t a model. There’s a [photo](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y_5ectmgS6g/maxresdefault.jpg) of him, shirtless, staring down at his flat stomach that has Youngjae drooling, and [another one](http://68.media.tumblr.com/7b4f9269cfba96e70bbe223bcb426fb0/tumblr_ntbfcdrjZG1tsvl0ko1_1280.jpg) that forces him to take a deep breath and stop scrolling because Youngjae's sleepy brain doesn't see the photo as innocently as the description makes it sound like (“ _When the kids bring toy handcuffs to the class and think it’s funny to arrest the teacher and snap a photo_ ”).

He figures it's time to stop and get some sleep. He slides under the covers, Coco snuggled by his side, and falls asleep, thoughts of Jaebum filling his head.


	2. Stop Stop It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaebum's and Youngjae's outfits in this chapter were inspired by what they're wearing in the One Point Korean Lesson. You can find a photo of the two of them, wearing the outfits I described in this chapter, here: [ this one has only 2jae ](http://s2.namasha.com/images/preview/6859869214-640x360.jpg) and [ this one has all GOT7 ](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KoMCdsWatoo/maxresdefault.jpg)

“This one,” Youngjae, wearing what it seems to be his every day outfit, – white shirt and black pants – holds a black tie against his neck, “or this one?” now he brings up a navy blue one.

Yugyeom looks from the TV to Youngjae who's pathetically standing by the door of his bedroom, on the verge of fainting from panic.

“For dinner with your parents or your funeral?”

Youngjae throws his head back and exhales through his nose, “Stop being a brat and help me.”

“You’re asking the wrong person, you know that, right?”

Oh, he knows he’s asking the wrong person, but he seriously needs someone’s help. As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, Bambam said he was going to shower too, but it has been 10 minutes already and he hasn’t yet heard the water run. Youngjae knows he’s barricading himself in there so that he doesn’t help him (something to do with “ _having to learn how to dress up by himself_ ”).

“Yugyeom, please!” the older one begs.

He sighs and gets up, pushing Youngjae into his bedroom.

“No tie. If you’re already going to die tonight, better not take the noose around your neck in the first place.”

“I swear to God, I’m so done with you, Yugyeom.”

Clearly ignoring the fretful Youngjae, Yugyeom opens his closet and grabs a pair of gray slim fit twill pants and a crewneck navy blue sweater that has white thin vertical stripes. He throws them at him.

“Change into those,” he orders, going through his shoes. He picks out a pair of beige high-top Converse. “Take these,” Yugyeom continues, walking to the drawer where he keeps his accessories, “Need a belt?”

“Better not take the noose around my waist either, right?” Youngjae attempts to joke; attempts because even though he’s smiling, his eyes are almost brimming with tears.

Yugyeom cackles (yes, _cackles_ ; when he’s excited, his laugh sounds as squeaky as the call of a migratory bird), leaving Youngjae’s wristwatch over his bed.

“Don’t take any other accessories other than the wristwatch, alright? And please, hair down.”

The youngest leaves the bedroom, letting Youngjae get ready. Before going back to his place on the couch he knocks on the bathroom’s door and tells something to Bambam. Youngjae chuckles dryly. Bambam steps out and joins Yugyeom in the living room, waiting to see the outfit Youngjae will be wearing (Yugyeom doesn’t say a word about having helped his hyung).

“So…?” Youngjae stands in front of the TV, arms open wide.

Bambam looks at him from head to toe with hawk eyes, “Casual look bordering on the formal, the outfit feels very Choi Youngjae…” He nods his head, “I’m proud of you.”

“Great,” he flashes a mischievously grin at Yugyeom, “but you should congratulate your boyfriend.”

“I said no helping him, Gyeom.”

“If I didn’t help him, he wouldn’t shut up. I’m trying to watch something here.”

Bambam frowns, “This is the reruns of _My Love from the Star_ , which you’re already watched, like, 5 times?”

“Whatever,” Yugyeom says, adding a few more decibels to the TV's volume.

“Please don’t forget to feed Coco,” Youngjae asks as he’s grabbing his phone and wallet.

“Don’t worry about the dog, worry about yourself,” Bambam tells him and looks back, “Hyung, fighting.”

Youngjae smiles and decides to only tell them about Jaebum once he’s back because he knows they’ll ask the “ _how did it go?_ ” question as soon as he walks in home.

~x~

Jaebum doesn't have a car and Youngjae doesn't even have his driver's license (he has failed his driving test twice), so they both take the public transports everywhere they go. Since the restaurant Youngjae's parents chose is close to a subway station, he and Jaebum agree that, whoever arrives first waits for the other, and then they go together to the restaurant, looking like an actual couple. As soon as Youngjae hops off, he starts looking around the packed station, trying to find Jaebum.  He's about to call him when he thinks he has found him. He walks towards the young man that is seemingly very interested in reading the bulletin board. He's wearing a long, gray wool cardigan, white and wine red plaid shirt tucked in his dark-wash jeans, brown leathered Oxford shoes. The more he approaches him, the more certain Youngjae is that this is Jaebum. He gets the confirmation once he standing next to him. Jaebum is oblivious of his presence. His hair is down today, shiny wristwatch strapped onto his right wrist, and he's only wearing one loop earring on each ear. Youngjae takes a couple more seconds to admire him because he looks (well, he is) breathtaking and he can't understand how can someone be this casual, chic, adorable and sexy at the same time.

"Anything interesting?"

Jaebum turns his head and smiles just by looking at him, "I don't really know. I wasn't paying attention to what I was reading."

“Did I make you wait for too long?”

“Nah. You said we should be at the restaurant before your parents and I don’t like to be late, so...” He shrugs and stretches his hand out to Youngjae, "Let's go?"

Youngjae holds his hand, their fingers naturally intertwining.

"Feeling nervous?" Jaebum asks, pulling him up the station's stairs.

"Strangely, no," Youngjae chuckles. "I’m actually getting calmer."

Jaebum feels a little cocky, choosing to believe that he makes Youngjae feel calmer (it isn't entirely a lie, though).

"Well, there's no reason to be nervous, right? I mean, your parents don't seem to be the pain-in-the-ass-type."

"How would you know? Have you met them already?" Youngjae laughs.

They're walking in the street now, leisurely walking hand in hand.

"No, but, considering the society we live in, it's amazing that your parents accept your sexual orientation." Something clicks in his head, "They know you're gay, right?"

He seriously hopes that they do because he's gay too and he doesn't want to spend a whole dinner hearing subtle (or not so subtle) homophobic comments.

Youngjae gives a light squeeze to Jaebum's hand and offers a reassuring smile, "They know I'm gay." He continues, explaining, "It wasn't easy for my dad to process it at first, but now he's fine with it, and my mom, well, she just wants me to be happy and wants to have grandkids. I could be dating a pig for all she cares."

"So your date for tonight was either me or a pig. Good to know," Jaebum grins.

"Yeah. It wasn't an easy choice."

Jaebum lets go of Youngjae's hand and speeds up his pace, his tone fake upset, "I wanna break up."

Youngjae chuckles and runs the few steps to him. He wraps his arms around Jaebum's left one and rests his head on his shoulder, "No, don't leave me," his tone is as jokingly as Jaebum's, "I can't live without you."

The two laugh heartily and whoever sees them thinks they are really a couple. Youngjae's hand slowly runs down Jaebum's arm and grabs his hand, fingers intertwining again. Jaebum feels more at ease tonight than he ever felt in any other night in which he had to be a fake boyfriend. In part it has to do with the fact that he’s doing this with a guy, but not entirely, because he has spent really interesting evenings with women as well. Jaebum realizes it’s because Youngjae brings him out of himself. He makes him feel lightheaded and lighthearted and he should be worried about it because he barely knows him, but truth is Jaebum is _fucking in love_ with the feeling of feeling light again.

When Youngjae notices, they're already two doors down from the restaurant. He pulls him in and they sit at a table near the entrance. A waitress comes to take their order, but they tell her they're waiting for more people. She nods and walks away, leaving them with the menu.

"Uh, something we didn't talk about yesterday," Jaebum begins. "Who's the oldest of us?"

"You are."

"I was born January ‘94," he states, still considering all possible scenarios but not questioning himself how come Youngjae _knows_ that he’s older. "And you?"

"You're my hyung."

"Ok, but when were you born?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Jaebum starts poking Youngjae on the side with his finger, causing him to squirm and giggle. "Stop it, I'm ticklish."

"Not until you tell me when were you born."

"September ’96."

"Oh, little baby," he coos, teasing him.

Youngjae playfully smacks Jaebum on the chest. Jaebum is surprised by his strength; if this is him smacking people jokingly, he doesn’t wanna know how strong he is when angry (not that he believes that this sunshine could ever get angry to the point of starting a physical fight).

"Are we interrupting something?" a female voice asks.

The two look up, Youngjae's parents are simply standing there, smiling as they watch them. They get up; Youngjae greets his parents affectionately, and Jaebum politely bows to the couple and even pulls out the chair for the woman.

"Oh, thank you," Eunju says, touched by Jaebum's chivalry. She turns to her husband, "I can't remember the last time you pulled out a chair for me, Junghoon."

Shots fired! However, judging by Jaebum's face, he’s the one who seems far more concerned with that remark than Junghoon.

"Well, I can't remember the last time we've been out for dinner,” Junghoon replies.

They look at each other and smile; Jaebum feels relieved that they are bantering or else things would be really awkward. Junghoon is reading the menu, and Youngjae, chin propped on his hand, looks like a little child, leaning on the table so that he can read it with his father. Jaebum smiles; he’s so fucking cute!

“You’ll have to apologize if I sound a little too intrusive sometimes,” Eunju’s voice causes Jaebum to divert his attention to her instead, “but every time I asked Youngjae if he was dating someone he’d only say he was seeing someone and that was it. I mean, he never even dropped your name once.”

“Oh, I’m sorry if Youngjae was so secretive. It might have been my fault,” he says, trying to give a generic excuse that justifies Youngjae’s lie.

“Why? Is there any problem?”

“No,” Youngjae interjects, placing his hand on top of Jaebum’s, “there’s no problem at all. If anything, it’s my fault for being this secretive, but you know that because of Hyunwoo…” he falls silent and swallows hard.

“You know what? Forget I even said anything, alright?” Eunju quickly amends.

Jaebum’s heart drops; he has no idea who the hell Hyunwoo is, or what he did to Youngjae (he seriously hopes he _only_ broke his heart), but he really wants to punch him.

The woman turns to Jaebum again, “Tell more about you. What do you do?”

Youngjae, who still hadn’t let go of Jaebum’s hand, plays with his fingers and smiles at his mother, “Jaebumie hyung is a music teacher too.”

“Oh, are you? So you met at work?”

This would be Jaebum’s turn to speak because, as Youngjae had told him, he’s terrible at lying, but he’s still dying over the fact that he was called ‘ _Jaebumie_ ’ _._ One time, Jinyoung called him ‘ _Jaebumie_ ’ and sported a black eye for at least a week (they were both a bit drunk at the time). Youngjae, however, calls him ‘ _Jaebumie_ ’ and he’s smiling like a fool.

“We met at a teachers’ seminar,” Youngjae continues, and Jaebum is impressed (“ _terrible at making stuff up_ ” my ass; look at him go!), “and we started chatting when he offered me the bitterest coffee I ever had in my life.”

“I asked you what you wanted to drink, but you said you’d have whatever I was having,” Jaebum says, “so don’t put the blames on me, alright?”

“Here’s the thing you should know about my son,” Junghoon starts, “he’s a sweet tooth. As always been since he was a little kid –”

Eunju cuts her husband short, “He had the most adorable chubby cheeks you can imagine.”

“Still does,” Jaebum smiles, caressing Youngjae’s cheek with the back of his index finger; he blushes hard.

Youngjae is really glad to see the waitress approaching their table. He presses his hands against his red cheeks, in an attempt to cool them down. They order samgyeopsal and soju, and even thought that’d be enough to feed the four of them, the younger ones ask for a bowl of naengmyeon for each. Youngjae’s parents doubt they’ll be able to down all that food, but they don’t question. The waitress returns, serving them a variety of side dishes that overcrowd their table. Then she brings the pork belly slices, tongs and scissors. Even though it’s usually the maknaes’ duty to cook, Junghoon takes care of the grilling, at least while Jaebum and Youngjae are eating naengmyeon. Jaebum wolfs the bowl of noodles down and helps the family man grilling the meat. Youngjae wants to help too but the only good thing he does is toss the pieces of meat onto the grill while eating his cold noodles. His mouth waters just with the sizzling sound of the meat being grilled and Jaebum notices how he looks at the meat with puppy dog eyes. The four of them chat amicably, mostly just being Eunju telling her son the news on their family in Mokpo.

Jaebum picks with the chopsticks a piece of meat that he thinks is well grilled. He dips it in the gireumjang sauce and feeds it to Youngjae.

“How is it?” 

Youngjae hums as he chews it. “Delicious,” he mumbles, mouth full, “You’re good at this.”

“My parents own a restaurant, Jae. Of course I’m good at this,” he brags, eating a piece of meat directly from the grill. "My –" he stops to open his mouth, allowing some air to enter; the meat had burned his tongue, "my father used to smack me in the back of the head because he'd ask me to grill meat for the clients but I'd always eat a piece or two."

Junghoon is pointing at Youngjae while chewing; he looks willing to speak, “Grilling meat on Sundays always meant having to chase Youngjae away from the grill. _I’ll help you, Dad_ , he’d say, but all he would do was stuff his mouth with meat.”

“What a fine couple you two are,” Eunju grins. “I’m sure the neighborhood butchers love that appetite of yours.”

“This is nothing,” Jaebum says. “No one beats me when it comes to eat chicken.”

The four of them share a laugh. The rest of the dinner goes on like that, playful banters and embarrassing childhood stories going back and forth. Eunju still sees Youngjae as her little boy (it gotta suck to be the maknae of the family, Jaebum thinks) and Junghoon never fails to point out how cheeky and full of life Youngjae was in his childhood, and how he’s still all of that. Jaebum is _so_ glad that his parents accept their son’s sexual orientation, and, therefore, his. He once had to spend a whole dinner with a girl whose father was religious – his devotion dangerously bordering on the fanaticism. Imagine how that evening went.

Youngjae’s parents tell Jaebum how great of a person he is once they’re out in the street, bidding their farewells to the “couple”. (Jaebum knows they’re being polite, as expected, because they’d never blatantly tell him “ _we want you two to marry”_ or “ _stop dating our son”_ ). Youngjae and Jaebum are holding hands again, but it’s not much out of necessity anymore. They’re holding hands just because.

“Should we walk you back to the hotel?” Jaebum asks.

“Oh, no, don’t bother,” Eunju tells him. “We’ll hail a cab and we’ll be there in a few minutes. And you two?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout us,” Youngjae replies, tugging on Jaebum’s hand, trying to get him to walk away from his parents.

“We’re taking the subway,” Jaebum adds (in Youngjae’s opinion, Jaebum _unnecessarily_ adds).

“Still?” Junghoon says and turns to Jaebum, “Can you please help him getting his driver’s license?”

Oh, so that was why Youngjae was tugging on his hand, Jaebum realizes.

“I’ll try my best, Sir.”

“Have a safe trip back home,” Youngjae wishes, kissing his mother’s cheek.

(He’s so, so glad that is father’s business trip only lasted for the weekend – once Eunju knew that Junghoon had to come to Seoul, she got some days off just to join him and see Youngjae – and that they were leaving on the next afternoon. Yes, he missed his parents and wanted to have dinner with them, but he didn’t like it one bit having to lie to his parents about having a boyfriend. Yes, it was his fault for having lied in the first place, but right now, he just wants them to go back to Jeolla.)

“I’ll call you before we leave.” Eunju says and then turns to Jaebum, “It was lovely to meet you.”

He smiles, “Likewise.”

As soon as Junghoon and Eunju enter the cab and leave, Youngjae throws his head back and heaves a deep sigh. He starts laughing and Jaebum knows it’s not all because of happiness for having fooled his parents; he had drunk quite a lot of soju throughout the entire dinner. He's a little tipsy, his cheeks are bright red, and he’s smiling more than usual, if that’s possible.

“You know,” Jaebum begins as they walk down the street, no longer holding hands, “for someone who said he couldn’t lie, you did alright tonight.”

“Thanks. But it’s all because of you. You made it easier. It was like we were in the same wave length.”

He is undeniably right. They supported each other’s stories so easily that they didn’t sound like lies at all.

“I, uh,” Jaebum starts, still pondering if he should let the words leave his mouth or not, “I know it’s none of my business, but I just need to ask you something.”

Youngjae shrugs and smiles, “Ask away.”

“Who’s Hyunwoo and what did he do to you? I understand if you don’t want to talk ab –”

“Hyunwoo was my boyfriend in college,” Youngjae doesn’t sound as cheerful as before and it pains Jaebum. “We had some classes together, that’s how we met. We started dating, and because we didn’t have that much time to be together, whenever we met, he always came off as a little bit of possessive and dominant. Back then, I liked, I guess. It made me feel like I was deeply wanted. But then, we graduated and everything we had fell apart in only a few months. I was going to move in into an apartment with Bambam and Yugyeom, the one I live in now, by the way, and he tells me his parents offered him an apartment and wanted me to move in with him. I didn’t see why not. My friends practically forced me to accept it. Everything seemed perfect. I worked as an assistant teacher at Gangnam Elementary and he got this great job as a translator at the UN, so he spent most of his time traveling between Seoul and New York. What wasn’t so perfect was that his possessive behavior got worse because of the lesser time we spent together. I didn’t feel like I was wanted anymore. I felt like he was trying to own me. He wanted me to move to New York with him but I wasn’t starting to fall out of love with him because I no longer recognized him. Or myself, really. It got to the point where he wanted to me believe that life without him didn’t make sense. It seemed very clear to me that we both wanted different things for ourselves, so I thought it’d be best if we’d go different ways. I decided to end things but he didn’t take it so well.”

Jaebum feels out of breath and he doesn’t understand if it is because of the pain he feels for Youngjae or for the anger he feels for Hyunwoo. “Did he – Please tell he didn’t…”

Youngjae smirks wryly, “Oh, he wanted, but I didn’t let him. He locked me inside the house, kept on threatening that he’d beat me up if I’d try to run away. He packed my bags and then forced me into his car. He had already bought the tickets to New York and everything. At first, I was panicking, but then I tried to seem like I was on board with his idea. He let his guard down and I took my chance. We stopped at the red light and I only remember opening the door and running and running and running… I pressed charges but he wasn’t prosecuted. He had really good lawyers and a really influential dad who wanted to keep it all on the down low. He moved to New York instead and I never heard of him ever since. It’s been almost a year, but now I’m finally starting to get better.”

“I’m really glad it all ended well. And…” he swallows hard and hushes; he was going to sound like he’s pitying him and he’s sure Youngjae wouldn’t like it one bit. If he were in his shoes, he wouldn’t like it either.

“I only called you to be my date for tonight because you’ve seen how protective my parents are. I’m the youngest of my family, I had this one, and so far only, boyfriend who was really shitty, and I told them I was seeing someone. If I’d told them tonight that I had lied to them, they’d never get off my back.”

“Right…”

They walk silently for the rest of the way. When they get to the station, they realize their taking the subway in opposite directions. It only makes the situation a little more depressing. Neither of them wants to call it a night but their arrangement is over. Before they split ways, Youngjae opens his wallet and pulls out ₩90000 that he offers (at least he tries) to Jaebum. He stares at the money, perplex.

“This is all I have with me, and honestly it’s not enough to pay you for what you did today.”

Jaebum stammers, “I – I can’t take it.”

“You wrote in the ad that if you were offered money, you wouldn’t refuse. So, here it is, take it.”

“Yeah, but –”

“But what? I’m paying you. Take it!”

“This is too much. You’re clearly a bit tipsy –”

“Take it,” Youngjae sounds dead serious. “Or are you just refusing it out of pity for knowing about my ex?”

“Wha – no! I’m not pitying you, but this is too much money. I can’t accept it after having almost ripped your parents off at the restaurant.”

“Hyung, please. This is my way of saying _thank you_.”

Jaebum grabs the money and stuffs it in his pocket.

“Thank you,” Youngjae says. He stares down at his feet and sighs, “I guess this it.”

“Yeah. I hope you do well at work. And at life in general.”

Youngjae can only nod, “You too.” He stretches his hand out to Jaebum, “It was nice meeting you, Jaebum.”

He concedes the handshake, “Likewise.”

They swirl on their heels almost at the same time, bound to go to the respective platforms when Jaebum stops dead in his tracks. “Youngjae?”

He promptly turns around, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Your company tonight was worth all the money anyone could ever pay me.”

Right after saying that, Jaebum rushes down the stairs, knowing that it was a mistake to having said such thing. They’re never going to see each other again, so he can’t be developing feelings for him. And, it’s not like he believes that Youngjae is smitten too. But Youngjae is smitten too, and he’s still rooted at the exact spot he's standing, heart wildly thumping in his chest, a voice in his head telling him to run after Jaebum.

~x~

In the subway, Jaebum gets a text from Jinyoung telling him that he and Mark are out for drinks with a couple of other mutual friends. Even though he doesn’t feel in the mood, Jaebum asks where they are gathering and rearranges his route to meet with them. He figures he needs a drink and his friends company to forget about the dinner with Youngjae and his parents. Mostly to forget about Youngjae. When he walks in the bar, Jinyoung reads him like an open book. That’s what you get when your friend knows you since high school. He already has a beer waiting before his seat when he joins them at the table.

“Did her mother ask you for grandchildren soon?” Jinyoung asks before taking the neck of the beer bottle up to his lips.

“I went out with a guy today.”

“Oh. How did it go?”

“I’m fucking whipped.”

“That's fast.”

Jaebum sighs (he hopes that he can hear “ _thanks Jinyoung, I wasn't aware of that_ ” in his sigh), chugging down his beer. “He offered me ₩90000 and I only accepted it because he insisted.”

“How do I put an ad on Craigslist?” Mark says. Jinyoung glares him.

Never underestimate Mark; he’s very quiet but is always secretly listening to everyone’s conversations.

“What?” he shrugs. “If I started now and everyone payed me that much, we could go to the Maldives in what, two, three months?”

Jinyoung isn’t convinced with Mark’s logic. “Well, but I don’t want to share you. Even if it is with women.” When he looks at Jaebum, he’s already downing his second beer, “Stop it. I’m not carrying you home.”

He couldn’t be more wrong. One hour later, Mark and Jinyoung are dragging a very drunk Jaebum home. On the way, he throws up on the floor, and on Jinyoung’s shoes, and he seriously considers if their friendship is worth it. They drop him in his bed, already snoring, and leave him with a glass of water and two pills on the bedside table before heading home. Jaebum awakes up the day after with a splitting headache, his body all lit up, and Nora sleeping on his face.


	3. Good Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at comments*  
> *looks at kudos*  
> *looks at bookmarks*  
> *bows all the way to the floor* Thank you!

Two weeks have passed since Youngjae’s fake boyfriend arrangement with Jaebum, and yet, he can’t stop thinking about him. He tries his very best not to stalk him on social media, but he hilariously fails at it, feeling the need to check his Instagram account before going to bed. He hasn't checked it tonight, but that's only because he's busy. He’s in the living room, a bunch of papers and a few books scattered over the coffee table, planning out the classes for the following week. Today’s only Thursday, 10:30 PM, and he is already in his sweatpants and T-shirt, waiting for sleep or exhaustion (whatever comes first) to catch up with him and force him to go to bed. It is in these moments that Youngjae feels the need to do something daring because this is no life for a man in his mid-twenties.

“Yugyeom and I are going to the movies. Wanna come too?” Bambam asks.

Youngjae doesn’t even look up from his papers and books, “No thanks. I can watch a movie and have popcorns and soda at home without having to see you two being all over each other. Besides, I really need to plan next week’s classes, so, have fun.”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be a spoilsport,” Bambam grabs his wrist and tries to pull him off of the couch. “We promise to keep our hands off each other if you come along.”

“Didn’t you hear me saying I have work to do?” Youngjae pulls his hand back and looks at his friend. “And why do you want me to go too? Are you going to watch a horror movie and just want to laugh at me?”

“I hadn’t thought of that, but no. It’s just,” he takes a seat next to Youngjae, “for how much longer are gonna be moping around?”

“I’m not moping around,” Youngjae says.

“Right,” Bambam pats his knee. “You just look like you broke up with the guy and you two never dated.”

“I can’t help it, ok?” he confesses and he’s almost crying because _fuck_! “I _really_ want to see him again but…”

“But what? You’ve got his number. Call him.”

“It’s weird. I need a motive to call him.”

“Pining seems like a good motive.”

Youngjae looks at him with a frown, “It’s a very awkward motive to call someone.”

“Awkward, yes, but it’s the perfect motive to call someone.”

“Alright,” Youngjae tosses the pen he’s holding over the coffee table and leans back on the couch, “even if I call him, what do I say? _Oh, hey, I’m just calling you because I can’t stop thinking about you_.”

The Thai shrugs, “It could be the start.”

Yugyeom sits on the couch’s armrest and joins their conversation, “Didn’t you say he’s a music teacher who plays the drums or something?”

“Drums and guitar. Your point being?”

“I bet none of the kids in your class has ever seen someone playing drums right in front of them. You could ask him to play for your class and then offer to buy him a cup of coffee as a way of thanking him for the favor. The kids in your class get a little a smarter, you get to see him again and realize if he’s into you too or not. Everybody wins.”

Youngjae’s face lights up like a kid’s face on Christmas Day, “You’re a genius, Yugyeom.”

“So you’re gonna call him?” Bambam asks.

“Not just yet. First I need to talk with the Principal and convince him to let Jaebum play for the kids. If he accepts it, then I’ll call him. I don’t want to make a fool out of myself, asking him – but,” Youngjae scratches the back of his head, “I need to, _at least_ , text him first, right? He might not want to do this –”

Bambam claps his back, “Look at you, taking initiative with your life.”

“Can you not –” Youngjae swats his hand away, looking so done with him, “I’m older than you.”

“Biologically, yes. On other life aspects, I’ve got my doubts.”

“Don’t talk to me about maturity because last week, when you were waiting for me by the school gates, I saw you trying to get three innocent kids to dab with you.”

“In my defense,” Bambam begins, “one of them was doing the Nae Nae.”

“And then people say that I’m the one filling their heads with western culture.” He sighs and focuses his attention back on his work, “Weren’t you guys going to the movies?”

“Yeah,” Yugyeom says and turns to his boyfriend, “Let’s get going?”

“Sure. I don’t feel so guilty leaving him behind now.”

Once the front door closes, Youngjae pushes his work aside and starts compiling a list of reasons that he deems important, hoping that they are enough to convince the Principal to let Jaebum play for the kids. After said list is complete, he lies face up on couch and mentally conceives the outline of the text message he’s going to send Jaebum. Only then he reaches for his phone.

**Im Jaebum**

>Hi. It’s Choi Youngjae. I’m not sure if you remember me but you were my pretend boyfriend two weeks ago. The reason why I’m texting you has nothing to do with your fake boyfriend business. I’m sorry if I offended you by saying it is a business. I just don’t know what to call it… Anyway, you are a music teacher who plays non-conventional instruments. I know that drums and guitar are pretty common, but not for the kids in my class. I don’t know anyone else who plays any other instruments other than the piano or the traditional ones. So, this is why I’m texting you. It’d be an honor for me to receive you at the school to play the drums for my students. Nothing too fancy or elaborate, don’t worry. Something like a show and tell kinda thing. I was wondering if you’d be interested in doing it. I still haven’t talked with the principal because if you won’t do it, there’s no reason for me to even bring it up in the first place. You don’t have to give me an answer right now. You don’t even have to pretend to think about it if you don’t want to do it. It’s absolutely fine if you refuse it. This is something I’m asking you completely out of the blue and you have all the reasons in the world to refuse doing it. No hard feelings if you say no. Anyway, I really hope you’re doing ok and I wait your answer, whatever it turns out to be.

_23:26_

Right after composing such an elaborate text (he doesn’t even know how come he didn’t exceed the text’s limit), Youngjae puts the phone aside and continues working. He doesn’t want to even want to look at it, feeling too nervous to know when Jaebum will reply (if he even bothers to reply) and what is answer will be. He makes himself a late night snack before heading to bed, feeling absolutely drained.  

Hi Youngjae. Of course I remember you. I hope you’re doing alright. I’m sorry for replying so late. I literally just saw your text. But you did say to think about it so…<

Well I’ve thought about it and I gladly accept your invitation. I hope that the principal doesn’t oppose to the idea. Text me or call me once you know more details.<

_1:31_

(When, in the morning, Yugyeom and Bambam see Youngjae so happy they wonder if Jaebum came over to the apartment the night before and gave Youngjae the best orgasm of his life)

~x~

When the school bell rings and announces the end of school hours, Youngjae makes his way to see the Principal, Mr. Kim Jinho. From the very few exchanges he had with him, he can tell that he takes the school’s administration very seriously. He knocks on the door, rather lightly, he recognizes, but waits for an answer nonetheless.

“Come in,” he says, his steady voice not showing any signs of fatigue (that’s because he doesn’t actively deal with children all day).

Youngjae pushes the door open and sits down at the chair in front of his desk. His office is big, somewhat luxurious, and looks like it’s of a CEO’s, not of a Principal’s.

“Tell me, Professor Choi, what brings you to my office?”

“A proposal. More like, your approval for an activity I’d like to do with all my students. I know it will require swapping some classes with other teachers, but it’s only for a day and I’m sure the other teachers won’t make a fuss about it.”

Principal Kim clasps his hands together on his desk, “Well, do tell me about it.”

He breathes thoroughly before saying everything he had, in great seriousness, rehearsed in front of mirror the night before, “I’d like to invite a musician to play for my class. And, before you say anything,” just for the record, the man was _not_ going to say anything, “let me explain you why this would be a good experience for the kids. First of all, you cannot deny that the children’s English has substantially improved ever since I’ve been exposing them to western music. Secondly, they seem much more attentive and obedient because they make the correlation between music and everyday life – there’s time to play and there’s time for silence. Also, confronting them with a reality different reality helps them being more open-minded about the world. Please consider my request, Mr. Kim. It’s not like I’m asking to take the kids on a field trip. And let’s not forget how bad things could have ended in that zoo field trip when one of Professor Sunyoung’s students nearly fell into the lion’s enclosure. This musician I’m talking about can come to play for the kids in the school, during school hours. All I need is your approval and I’ll contact him.”

Youngjae’s is breath ragged once he’s finished.

“It looks like you put a lot of thought into this, Professor.” The Principal says; Youngjae doesn’t even try to contradict him. “You presented me some valid arguments.”

“So, you’re letting me do this?” he tries really hard not to grin.

“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Send me his information and I’ll do a background check done before we set it up.”

“Of course. I’ll email it to you once I get home,” he gets up and bows to the man. “Thank you, Sir.”

As soon as Youngjae leaves the Principal’s office, his whole body fires up because _the Craigslist ad_! However, he doesn't (fully) panic just yet. For someone who was very apprehensive to call Jaebum, he’s very quick to whip out his phone and pull up his number.

“Hello?” Besides hearing Jaebum’s voice, Youngjae can hear a guitar playing. “Yejunie, can you play a little lower, please? I’m sorry,” Jaebum is now talking to Youngjae, “I’m in the middle of a class.”

“Oh, then maybe I can call later –”

“No, it’s fine. He needs a while to practice on his own, really. I’ll have to apologize again but I didn’t even look at the caller ID, so –”

“It’s Youngjae.”

“Oh,” Jaebum smiles, only now recognizing his honeyed voice, "How are you?”

“I’m doing great. I’m calling because I just talked with the Principal.”

“What did he say?”

“He said yes, but before setting anything up, he wants to do a background check on you.”

“Seems understandable. But why do I feel so much panic in your voice?”

Youngjae’s heart beats a little faster because A, he’s embarrassed (someone can tell, only from hearing his voice, that he’s nervous) and B, he’s feeling giddy ( _Jaebum_ can recognize the nuances in his voice and _know_ that he’s nervous).

“The ad.”

“Oh…” Jaebum mumbles. “I guess I can delete it for a couple of days.”

“Could you? Really? Would you do that for me? Not for me _me_ but –”

“Consider it done.”

“Ok…” Youngjae bites his lip, “So, I’ll call you once I know more details about the visit?”

“Deal. You know, I’d love to continue to chat but Yejun –”

“I understand. _Trust me_ , I understand. You can’t leave kids unattended for more than five minutes.”

Jaebum smiles again (well, he has been smiling ever since he recognized Youngjae’s voice), “Alright. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

“I’ll call. Don’t worry. Now go back to your class.”

The “Musician Visit” (that’s how it’s announced on the notice hanging on the bulletin board) happens two weeks after their phone call. Youngjae only manages to have his 5th and 6th graders to attend because Jackson is the only kind soul who accepts to trade classes with Youngjae. Jaebum is feeling apprehensive because he doesn’t teach (conventionally) in a year, and there will be 36 kids looking at him. To make him even more nervous, Youngjae tells him that he has classes in the morning, so he can’t meet up with him any time before the presentation. However, he lets him know that he’s authorized in the building and explains him the way to the school’s auditorium, so that he can set up his drum kit with time, and without having 36 curious kids being all over him. Jaebum confides, via text, that he’s nervous about the idea of playing for upper-class kids (Youngjae laughs) and so Youngjae promises to run to the auditorium during the morning break, just to settle him.

~x~

“You need to get a car,” Mark puffs, loading yet _another_ piece of Jaebum’s drum kit into the trunk of his (his boss’) very expensive car.

Jaebum walks right behind him, carrying the cymbals, “Oh, and you gonna pay for it? And then pay for the gas, the insurance, the maintenance?”

“If my boss even dares to dream of the countless rides I give you, during my work hours, he’ll fire me.”

He has cheeky grin on his face, “I didn’t know you were this petty, Mark. You’re doing a favor for a friend, and it’s not like you’re doing anything illegal. I mean, you _are_ a chauffeur.”

“Not _your_ chauffeur! Unless you are planning on paying me. In that case I charge ₩11000 an hour and, by the way, you already owe me like ₩220000.”

(Jaebum is starting to realize he likes Mark a lot more when he keeps his mouth shut.)

“I am playing in your wedding, for free. I have to admit that my payment may come in a little late because you apparently haven’t made up your mind whether to propose or not, but –”

Mark glares him and Jaebum can only raise his arms in the international way of saying ‘ _I surrender_ ’ but in his case he’s saying ‘ _Calm the fuck down!_ ’.

However, he still teases him, “I don’t know how Jinyoung still hasn’t found the ring.”

“I can’t _just_ propose, ok? It needs to be memorable. And, I still need to save up some more money.”

“I thought you already had enough money for the trip, the wedding, the honeymoon,” Jaebum says in a way of a question.

Mark takes a seat on the edge of the open trunk, “And I do. That’s all mostly taken care of. But his parents need to be at the wedding too and it’s not that cheap to buy plane tickets and pay for a stay at a hotel in LA for two people.” He heaves a long sigh, “It sucks that gay marriage isn’t legal here.”

Jaebum sits next to him and pats his knee, “Hey, you know that if you need anything I’m here, right?”

A small smile tugs on the corner of his lips, “You don’t even have a car.”

“Fuck the car! If my friends need any help to get married, I’m helping.”

“Thanks.” He gets up and straightens his pants, “Let’s get going? I still have to go get my boss and I don’t want to be late.”

Once he climbs into the passenger’s seat, Jaebum asks, “Do you think you can give me a ride back here after I’m done at the school?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“I can’t carry the drum kit all the way back here.”

“I have to take my boss to the airport, so if you want a ride back here, you’ll have to wait.”

Jaebum grins, fastening his seat belt, “I’ll pay you a drink tonight.”

“You better,” Mark says as he starts the car.

(Truth is, Jaebum had more interesting things to do other than paying Mark a drink that night)

~x~

Youngjae stops dead in his tracks at the door of the auditorium. He called Jaebum to come and play the drums for the kids but this is _way_ more than what he bargained. Jaebum's hair is flare-red dyed, pushed back. He is finishing setting up the drums, the hoodie he stripped off is hanging on the hi-hat’s stand. He’s wearing a black sleeveless shirt that perfectly hugs his torso, showing off his toned arms, the tattoo on his forearm, his veins slightly popped up.

“Hey,” Youngjae says in the steadiest tone he can muster.

Jaebum looks back and takes a deep breath, “Hey. Thank God you came.”

“You're so nervous.” Youngjae smiles, “There’s no need for all that stress. You know the drill, you teach kids too.”

"It's been a while since I taught at a conventional school.”

“Kids are the same everywhere. They're just... kids.”

"Have you ever watched _Chucky_?" Youngjae shakes his head so Jaebum continues, “Well, Chucky is a _just_ a doll who happens to murder people.”

“No one is going to die here today,” _except maybe me_ , he thinks, “I can assure you that.”

“If I die, I’ll haunt you forever.”

“I can think of worse things,” Youngjae grins. “Can I go get the kids from the classroom?”

“Remember, if I die, I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“I plan on live till I’m 100, so you’ll grow tired of me eventually,” Youngjae says on his way out the door.

Jaebum smirks as he takes a seat on the stool, quietly mumbling to himself, “I don’t think I’d ever grow tired of you.”

Not much after, Youngjae walks in, leading his students. He holds the hands of the first one of the line, guiding him, and the rest follows them, hands on each other’s shoulder, eyes closed. He lines them up facing Jaebum.

“Does anyone know what are we doing here today?” Youngjae’s question is met with an (almost) unison choir of ‘ _no_ ’s’. “Ok, so, you'll listen to a sound and I want you to tell me what it is. No peeking, alright?"

He makes a gesture at Jaebum which he promptly understands. He adjusts the grip on his drumsticks and does a drum roll.

“Drums!” The kids excitedly shout.

Then they open their eyes, eye sparkling with excitement, and Youngjae isn't sure if their fascination is all because of the drum kit or if the offbeat young man standing before them has something to do it too (it’s understandable if they are fascinated with Jaebum too; all the school teachers dress up neatly, don't have their hair dyed in vibrant colors, neither do they have visible piercings or tattoos).

“Kids, say good morning to Mr. Im Jaebum.”

The children bow as they say ‘ _Good morning Mr. Im Jaebum_ ’ in a sing-song tone. Youngjae orders them to sit on the floor and walks to the grand piano, taking a seat on the bench. Jaebum is staring at him, his eyes read ‘ _help me_ ’ like a lighthouse in the night.

“Uh, Mr. Jaebum,” Youngjae clears his throat, a small cheeky grin tugging on the corner his lips, “why don’t you tells us a little bit about yourself and tell us about your instrument.”

Jaebum breathes out, “Right.”

He starts by introducing himself and once he’s explaining the kids about all the parts of the drum kit, he seems more relaxed. He doesn’t go into much detail but describes what each piece does and ends up exemplifying by playing. He tries to cover the widest range of genres, tempos and fills he can without boring the kids, but it turns out that they are wildly interested in everything he’s saying and doing. Suddenly one student raises his hand.

Jaebum points at the boy and asks him, “What’s your name?”

“Seoeon.”

“Alright, if anyone like Seoeon has any question or doubt, feel free to ask. Now, your question, Seoeon.”

“It’s not a question but,” he makes a short pause and looks at his teacher; Youngjae nods, encouraging him, “you play the drums like Ian Paice.”

Worth it! Coming here was so, so worth it, Jaebum thinks. Getting to see Youngjae is great; having a ten-year-old recognizing that he’s a left-handed drummer just like Deep Purple’s drummer is the cherry on top of the cake. 

“You know who Ian Paice is?” Jaebum is so excited he’s smiling, showing his teeth like a beaver.

Seoeon nods, “The drummer of Deep Purple.”

“Have you listened their music?”

“Professor lends us CDs at the end of every class.”

Jaebum looks at Youngjae, “Oh, does he?”

“Yeah. He’s the coolest.”

A girl’s voice adds, “And he sings for us too.”

“I want listen to him sing now.”

Youngjae tries to exempt himself from singing but his students don’t let him, chanting ‘ _Sing! Sing! Sing!_ ’ as they clap their hands.

“I don’t even know what to play,” he says, hands hovering over the piano keys.

“How about _Take My Breath Away_ by Elliott Yamin?” Jaebum suggests. “I’ll accompany you on the drums.”

He forgets how to breathe for a moment there, staring at Jaebum. That’s his favorite song by his favorite artist, and there’s no way Jaebum could have said that completely at random. He had recorded himself singing and playing the song’s chorus and posted it on Instagram a few days ago. Suddenly Youngjae doesn’t feel like a stalker. 

They look at each other, trying to fall into the same rhythm but find out that they just fall into each other’s cadence without even trying. When Youngjae starts singing he takes Jaebum’s breath away. Hearing his voice, live, is magical. He sounds so much better now than he did in the short cover he did. Jaebum is grinning like a goddamn fool, stealing glances at him while playing the drums. Youngjae is completely enthralled in what he’s playing and singing to notice him, but when he hears Jaebum singing along with him, his eyes flutter open. He falls in love with his voice just like Jaebum fell for his.

Their voices smoothly meld together, and they start improvising, providing backing vocals for each other; one is the main singer and the other adlibs, whether in high or low tones. Whoever comes in and sees them thinks that one is trying to outdo the other when in fact they are trying to impress one another like two peacocks courting a peahen. The kids look at the two of them and smile, not quite understanding why they’re smiling, though. They are simply feeding off of their vibes; they sound good, they look happy, they are sharing a moment, completely obviously of everything else around them. When they finish, they are taken aback by the children’s impromptu applause.

“Ok,” Jaebum starts, “I’ll let all of you come here and play on the drums, but you have to give me some ten minutes to change the layout,” he looks at Youngjae, “seems ok?”

“Sure,” Youngjae gets up to take a seat on the floor in front of the kids, back turned to Jaebum, “In the meantime we can take some notes about what we learned here today.”

The children pull their notebooks out their schoolbags and lie on their stomachs, excitedly discussing with their teacher about rhythm, beat, dynamic, time signature and other concepts they heard Jaebum say. Youngjae can’t help but to smile; _this_ is exactly why he became a teacher. The kids see learning as something enjoyable, not as an obligation.

Once Jaebum changes the drum kit for the right-handed setup, he offers the drumsticks to the child sitting nearest to him and walks to take a sit on the piano’s bench. Youngjae joins him not much after. They spend a few moments looking at the kids taking turns to literally bang on every piece of the drum kit. They’re being loud as hell, but that’s just the way it should be.

Youngjae grins as he says, “You’re still alive.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Jaebum nudges Youngjae’s arm; he chuckles. “I want to go home in one piece.”

“Thank you for coming. This is _exactly_ what the kids needed.”

“My pleasure. They seem to be good students, and really fast learners.”

“Would you believe if I’d tell you that we only have practical classes twice a month?”

Jaebum frowns, “That’s a crime. Music can’t be just theory. They need to do, to play, to try.”

“I know, but the Principal says that the kids make too much noise.”

Now he seems offended, “Music can be loud, but it’s never noise.”

“I know that. And the kids do too, don’t worry. I tell them that music is like love. You have to feel it, to experience it, to enjoy it.” Youngjae’s cheeks get a little too warm and he looks down at his lap, “It’s a bit silly, I know but –”

“But it’s true. Music overcomes beliefs, borders, the gender and color of one’s skin. Music overcomes everything. And just like love, music has to be felt,” Jaebum gently grazes the back of Youngjae’s hand with his fingertips, goosebumps crawling up his spine, “shared, cherished.” 

“I’m glad that someone finally understands me,” he whispers and then heaves a long sigh, feeling lighter than ever. “I seriously can’t thank you enough for coming here.”

“Before you pull out of your wallet again, just accept going out for a drink with me. Are you free tonight?”

The school bell rings before Youngjae can speak. The children loudly whine and he has to step into the role of teacher, leaving Jaebum without an answer. Youngjae tells them that this bell is already announcing the beginning of another class; recess time is over. They very unwillingly grab their schoolbags and leave the auditorium, bidding their farewells to their teacher and to Mr. Jaebum.

“About going out for a drink,” Youngjae begins once they’re alone, “I –”

“Professor Choi,” the Principal calls him by the auditorium’s door. It’s hard to tell who wants to murder the man the most, if Jaebum or Youngjae. “May I have a word with you?”

“S – sure. I’ll just help –”

“I’m sure Mr. Jaebum can break down the drum kit by himself,” the man says before walking away, hoping that Youngjae follows him.

Youngjae turns to Jaebum, ready to speak, but he cuts him short, “It’s fine, go. I still have to wait for my friend to come and pick me up, so the more I stall, the less I have to wait.”

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbles, running to the door. “Text me later about the place where we’re meeting, alright?”

“I will,” Jaebum manages to put in before Youngjae disappears.

He hits one of the cymbals with the drumstick, grinning to himself.

~x~

Youngjae and Jaebum spend a nice night, drinking and talking at the bar (determined not repeat the same show twice, Youngjae pays attention to the amount of alcohol he ingests; getting tipsy at the dinner with his parents was enough). The topic of their conversation mainly revolves around music. They talk about their favorite songs, their favorite albums and the tunes that were the soundtrack of their happy, sad, wild and sweet moments of their, so far, short-lived lives. They get to know each other a little better, because as some say, music is a window to the soul.

When it gets late, Jaebum pays for their drinks and insists on walking him home. He tells him, and isn’t lying, that he wants to spend just a little more time with him. And so they walk along the streets of Gangnam, laughing, talking, flirting and bantering with each other. Youngjae says ‘ _this is it_ ’ rather sadly once they reach his apartment building. They walk in and stand at the entrance hall, somewhat awkwardly. This is _that_ moment: how to say goodbye?

“I had a lot fun, hyung,” Youngjae says, slowly getting closer to Jaebum.

Jaebum shifts even closer, “Me too.”

They can practically feel the desire emanating from each other’s bodies, their stare flickering between each other’s lips and eyes. Jaebum’s heart beats a little faster and his brain tells him to do it. He places a hand on Youngjae’s waist, the other hand cupping his jawbone as he crushes their lips together. Youngjae is frozen at first, but once Jaebum’s tongue finds his, he feels his legs turning to jelly and his brain deserting him. All he can think about is how tightly Jaebum’s body is pressed against his and how the taste of beer and mint from a gum he had chewed earlier dance in his tongue. Youngjae tightens his grip on a handful of Jaebum’s shirt and pulls his body even closer. He smiles into the kiss because he had been craving it for a while. The kiss has to be one of the sloppiest the two have ever experienced, but feeling and hearing each other’s chests roaring with trouble breaths just turns the kiss into something sweet. They pull back just enough to catch their breaths, foreheads resting against each other’s. Jaebum feels Youngjae’s frantically thumping heart hammering against his chest as he leans in and pecks his lips a couple more times.

“Been wanting to do that ever since we met at the coffee shop,” Jaebum confesses, gently capturing Youngjae’s lower lip between his teeth.

“Glad I wasn’t the only one,” Youngjae breaths, rubbing the tip of their noses together. “It makes me seem a little less horny.”

Jaebum laughs, slipping his hands in Youngjae’s back pockets, “You know, you’re not as innocent as you look like.”

“Speaking of which, unless you're planning on coming upstairs with me, you better get your hands away from my ass.”

“Really?” he kisses him again, squeezing Youngjae’s ass.

He gasps into his mouth, “Really.”

“Noted for future reference.” Jaebum pecks his lips, “I’d really _love_ to go inside with you,” and again, “but you said you’re friends are home,” and again, “and we both have to get up early.”

“I know.”

“Next time, I’m taking you to my place.” This time Jaebum pulls Youngjae for a deeper kiss, “I live alone. We can make all the noise we want.”

Jaebum wiggles his eyebrows and Youngjae chuckles.

“Next time then,” Youngjae kisses Jaebum one last time before letting go of him.

Jaebum stands there, watching Youngjae until he enters the elevator. He only leaves the building once the doors close.


	4. Home Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first time writing boy on boy smut, so please cut me some slack.

Jaebum is a connoisseur of all the great bars that play live music in the city. For this particular date night, he takes Youngjae to one of his favorites. It is a fun night; they have a few drinks, enjoying the jazz fusion band that plays, talking amusingly. Then Jaebum asks Youngjae to come to his apartment (he has invited him to his apartment before but tonight things will be different) and whatever happens until they get there isn’t clear, and it’s not because they’re drunk on alcohol but because they’re drunk on each other. Jaebum unlocks the front door, the moonlight that enters through the living room’s window casts shadows on his face, his pupils dilating in anticipation when he looks at Youngjae. He can tell Jaebum wants him as much as he does because he’s gazing him, hungrily, lips slightly parted, breathing in and out through his mouth. 

Youngjae doesn’t hesitate. He crushes his lips against Jaebum’s and thrusts his crotch against his. Jaebum hums into Youngjae’s mouth, taken aback, but comes back to his senses quickly. One of his hands rests on Youngjae’s hip, the other is on the back of his head, fingers carding through his hair. Even though he tries not to, Youngjae comes off as desperate, kissing Jaebum like he’s trying to bruise his mouth, hands wandering up and down his torso. He is so into the kiss, eagerly sliding his tongue into his mouth, that when Jaebum pushes him against the wall and leaves hot, wet kisses on his neck, his mouth hangs open and he’s gasping.

“You can make all the noise you want, baby boy,” Jaebum whispers into his ear, the hand that rested on his hip crawling up under his sweater.

Jaebum bites his earlobe, slightly tugging on it, and squeezes his ass; Youngjae’s first moan slips out of his mouth almost instantly. Jaebum thinks he could probably get off just with the sound of his moans.

“Don’t tease me, please,” he begs in a pant. “I haven’t had sex in a year.”

Youngjae throws his head back as Jaebum licks up his throat. A shaky moan drips from his lips, the vibration making the tip of Jaebum’s tongue itch.

“I’m not gonna tease you,” Jaebum says, his voice low and raspy, breath tickling Youngjae’s lips. “I’m gonna wreck you.”

He tugs Youngjae’s sweater over his head and runs his fingertips up his spine, all while kissing him. Youngjae shivers under his touch. He allows himself to be guided to the bedroom, unbuttoning and peeling off Jaebum’s shirt on the way. Youngjae is pushed onto bed, chest heaving as he looks up at Jaebum. The way he stares at him makes Jaebum lose every ounce of self-control he has. He places his knees on each side of Youngjae's legs and presses his lips on his again. Jaebum’s fingers tangle on his hair, tilting back Youngjae’s head. He’s showering him with open-mouthed kisses, licking at his neck, collarbone, nipples, belly, nibbling his milky skin. Youngjae squirms under him, back arched, heavy breaths leaving his mouth, his hands helplessly brushing at Jaebum’s face, shoulders, arms, hair. When he feels Jaebum’s tongue fondling the skin below his navel, a hand coming to palm his crotch, Youngjae sits up. For a second there, Jaebum thinks he screwed up but Youngjae hooks a leg around his waist and flips him over, pinning him down on the mattress. Youngjae gets up to kick off his jeans, Jaebum props himself on his elbows just to look at him, feeling himself getting harder. He gets a brief moment to lay his eyes on Youngjae’s bulge before he’s on top of him again. He’s got _something_ in there; he can tell by the outline that he’s an average size, but he’s thick and his mouth is watering. He imagines how he’d feel inside him, fucking h –

“Never seen a guy in briefs before?” Youngjae teases, purposely pressing his bulge against Jaebum’s when he leans down to kiss him.

Jaebum is groaning because Youngjae isn’t nibbling his skin; he’s almost literally devouring him, sucking, biting and licking at his skin. He’s been deprived of human contact for so long that his brain isn’t even processing how aggressive he’s being. Jaebum isn’t minding one bit, though. The record speed in which Youngjae manages to remove his jeans has Jaebum impressed. He feels his warm hands kneading the soft flesh of his thighs, tongue running up and down his happy trail. Youngjae smirks when he hears Jaebum making other sounds other than low, guttural moans. He whines when he cups him, eyes shut tight, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. His boxers get pulled down and tossed away, and he lets out a moan that echoes in the walls of the bedroom when Youngjae takes him in his mouth. All of him, all at once.

“Fuck!” he groans, bucking up his hips, a hand tugging on a fistful of Youngjae’s hair.

Youngjae pulls back and places a firm hand on his hip to steady him. The look he gives Jaebum before leaning down to lick his shaft a couple of times is, at the very least, sinful. Jaebum tries his best not to look down because Youngjae has swallowed all of him again, his cheeks are red and hollowed, his lips perfectly wrapped around his cock. He can feel himself hitting the back of Youngjae’s throat and it’s taking him so much to hold back and not cum in his mouth. Youngjae’s jaw is starting to get sore so he resorts to suck on his tip and use his left hand to pump the rest of him. His right hand is wandering, stroking Jaebum’s thigh and palming his balls.  

“J – Jae,” he gasps, “I’m gonna cum if you don’t stop.”

Youngjae pulls back with a pop, using his thumb to gather the pre-cum that is dripping down Jaebum’s dick and sucks his finger clean, looking right into his eyes.

“You don’t even know what you do to me, do you?” Jaebum says, lying Youngjae on his back.

“You make me want to do this.”

“Good,” Jaebum whispers before leaning down to kiss him.

He stretches his hand to reach the bedside table and feels around the drawer, grabbing the condoms and the lube. Youngjae is spreading his legs as soon as Jaebum gets him out of his briefs and the sight is a sinful delight. He pours a good amount of lube on his fingers and inserts one at first. It takes him a little to get accustomed with the intrusion but Jaebum works him up slowly, sliding his finger in and out. Youngjae’s pained frown turns into a pleasurable one, he’s gasping, begging for more under his breath. Jaebum complies and adds another digit. He’s writhing and whining as his breath quickens, beads of sweat forming in his brow. Jaebum’s dick gets even harder (he’s so hard it hurts) as he looks at him, a moaning mess with tussled hair, savoring the pleasure he’s giving him. Youngjae actually whimpers when Jaebum removes his fingers to slip the condom on.

“Slow, ‘k?” Youngjae asks. “I’m – it’s been a while.”

Jaebum leans down to kiss him, slow and passionately. His lips are still on Youngjae’s as he aligns himself with his hole and enters him bit by bit. It hurts like hell; it hurts so much that he feels the air gets punched out of his lungs and his stomach jumps to his throat. He pushes in and pulls out a couple of times until he feels that Youngjae is stretched enough. Only then he wraps Youngjae’s legs around his waist and starts thrusting into him, picking up a steady pace. ‘ _Hyung_ ’ becomes Youngjae’s mantra. He says it under his breath with his heels digging into Jaebum’s kidneys, his nails raking his back and arms. Jaebum rests his head on the crook of Youngjae’s neck as he focuses only on snapping his hips at a stable rhythm, hearing Youngjae’s breathy moan in his ear. He sticks his hand between their bodies and wraps his hand around Youngjae’s dick, pumping him at the same pace that he’s pushing into him. Youngjae’s moans get louder with each thrust but it’s Jaebum who comes undone first. Despite being too sore and sensitive, he continues to pound into Youngjae. He latches onto Youngjae’s neck, tears brewing in his eyes because of the overstimulation. Finally Youngjae reaches his peak too; his body is shuddering, his hole clenching around Jaebum, cum spurting all over his chest.

Jaebum can’t roll off the condom without whining. They are laying face up, side by side, bodies tingling and chests rising and dropping dramatically as they work on recovering their breaths. Youngjae tries to reach for the box of tissues that is on the bedside table when Jaebum hovers over his body and licks his chest clean. He sighs contentedly, feeling Jaebum’s hot tongue tickling his skin again. He cups Jaebum’s face and pulls him up for a kiss. He tastes himself in Jaebum’s mouth, cum and lube are dripping down his thighs, but he doesn’t care. Not when Jaebum is kissing him like _that_ , not when he pulls back and looks at him like _that_.

“I don’t want you to ever be afraid to open up to me,” Jaebum whispers, his voice so frail it makes Youngjae’s heart clench. “I want you to trust me, ok? Because I’ll trust you too.”

“I know,” Youngjae says, brushing a few wet strands of hair away from Jaebum’s forehead.

He leans down to put a chaste kiss to his forehead, “You deserve to be treated with all the love, care and respect in the world, and I’ll try my best to treat you just like that.”

“I know.”

Jaebum lies down next to Youngjae and drapes his arm over his waist, slotting one leg between his. Youngjae leans back, pressing his back against his chest. They’re sticky and naked, and sleeping like this isn’t comfortable at all, but neither of them minds. Not when their bodies fit in each other’s embrace.

“I’ll make it up to you in the morning,” Youngjae mumbles, half asleep already.

When the morning comes, they are no longer holding each other. Jaebum has rolled over and is sleeping on his stomach and when Youngjae wakes up, he is staring at the ceiling. He lies on his side and finds Jaebum softly snoring, face turned away from him. He traces his spine up and down his index finger, watching a trail of goosebumps blooming in its wake. Youngjae leans over him and starts peppering his broad shoulders with small kisses until he elicits a throaty moan from Jaebum. He continues, kissing his neck and behind his ear. Jaebum raises his hand over his head to reach Youngjae. He’s stroking his hair as he lazily opens his eyes, relishing on the feeling of Youngjae's lips softly brushing against his skin.

“Can I wake up like this every day?”

Youngjae smiles against Jaebum’s bed warm skin, one hand rubbing slow circles on his stomach.

“As long as you wake me up like this every once in a while too.”

Jaebum shifts in bed so that they’re now face to face. “Do you know what day was yesterday?”

Youngjae closes his eyes and feels his cheeks warm up as he whispers, “Our 100 Day Anniversary.”

“Yup,” Jaebum leans in and pecks his lips. “Did you like my gift?”

He chuckles, “Yeah, I did.”

“Good. But I have something else for you.”

“Really?”

Jaebum nods and reaches for the bedside table. Youngjae props his elbow on the pillow and rests his head on his hand, looking in the same direction, but Jaebum covers his eyes and pushes his head down. Youngjae smiles and lies down again, keeping his eyes closed. Jaebum opens the drawer and gropes around until he feels what he’s looking for.

“Now, don’t judge me, ok? These are quite cheap and simple, and in my defense I never bought anything for anyone else before. But I put a lot of thought into this.”

“Whatever it is, cheap or expensive, I’ll love it, hyung.”

He shows him [two rings](http://68.media.tumblr.com/2a2735fbae6eb918d95942ea0de03b48/tumblr_nwa9doW0771tqnrzso1_1280.jpg), one white, the other black. They’re simple ceramic rings, without any kind of pattern or inscriptions on them.

“They’re the same size, so which one do you want?”

Youngjae is staring, not at the rings or at Jaebum. He’s simply staring into the distance. Jaebum bought couple rings. He had never bought any gift for anyone else before him. He –

“Jae?” Jaebum asks, trying to hold back a chuckle. “Are you ok?”

His smile is big, almost taking up all his face, when he raises his left hand, “I want the white one.”

Jaebum is grinning like a fool as he tries to slip the ring in Youngjae’s ring finger. It doesn’t fit, so he tries to put it in the middle finger. It doesn’t fit either. The two lie on their backs, laughing.

“Try this one,” Youngjae says, holding up his index finger. Finally, it fits!

Youngjae then reciprocates the action. He grabs Jaebum’s right hand, but, just like it happened with him, the ring is too large on Jaebum’s ring finger. However, it’s the perfect fit for his middle finger.

“Like I said, these are cheap –”

“I love it,” Youngjae whispers into Jaebum’s mouth before kissing him.

Their kiss becomes a little more passionate, endorphins coursing through their veins, a blazing heat is growing in their bellies. Youngjae’s hands start roaming Jaebum’s body, feeling him getting hard, poking his thigh. He smirks; he did say he was going to make it up to him in the morning. Youngjae had already flipped Jaebum over, making him lie on his stomach, when they hear Nora meow, sauntering into the bedroom. She jumps onto the bed, right next to Youngjae.

“Hyung,” Youngjae says, rolling off Jaebum’s body.

Jaebum quickly kicks back the bed clothes. He put his boxers back on (with some difficulty because of his hard on) and carries the cat to the kitchen, to feed her, and to keep her away from Youngjae. He doesn’t want to be the responsible for his allergic reaction. Youngjae lazily stretches up as he waits for Jaebum. He notices his phone on the floor; it had carelessly fallen from his pocket the night before. He gets up to grab and place it on the bedside table when, out of curiosity, he checks what time is it. Alarms blare in his head. He’s late for school, like, _really_ late. When Jaebum returns to the bedroom (after having thoroughly washed his hands to rid of any cat’s hair), he finds Youngjae sorting through the pieces of clothes that lie on the floor.

“What are you –”

“I’m so late,” Youngjae explains while pulling his jeans up.

Jaebum points at Youngjae’s chest, “That’s my –”

“I should already be on my way to the school, hyung,” he puts a kiss on Jaebum’s lips and then is a blur rushing out of the bedroom. “We’ll talk later, ‘k?” he tells him while pulling up a number on his contact list.

The front door closes with a slam and Jaebum is left standing in the middle of his bedroom, dazed, turned on and happy. He decides to go take a shower.

“Yugyeom?” Youngjae is talking on the phone while running through the streets, trying to reach the subway station as fast possible. “Do you think you can bring my satchel to the station?”

“Dunno,” he’s chewing while speaking, “how far away are you?”

“Some ten minutes. Can you meet me there and pass it to me when the train stops at the station?”

“I’ll try. See you in a bit.”

“Thank you.”

It looks like a scene from a relay race. As soon as the subway arrives at the station that is nearby their apartment, Yugyeom squeezes himself through the mass of people that are exiting and manages to hand the satchel to Youngjae. He only mouths a ‘thank you’ because he’s on the phone again, warning the school that he’ll be late. Needless to say that when he enters the classroom, wheezing, hair somewhat tussled, wearing a shirt that looks a bit too big on him, the kids let out quiet (and not so quiet) giggles.

~x~

When Jaebum walks in the law firm, he is met with the usual commotion of the lawyers, assistants and a few clients walking along the halls. He makes his way to Jinyoung’s office, hoping that he has left for his usual mid-morning coffee break. He’s been working as Jinyoung’s assistant for the past three months because ever since Youngjae asked him to play at the school, he took down the Craigslist ad and never put it up again. Jaebum wants to have with Youngjae his first (and last) serious relationship, so he decided it was time to act like an adult and get a job that actually helped him pay the bills. His music classes are now a part-time job and he’s even saving up money to buy a car.

He walks in the office room and takes a seat at his desk, starting the computer, checking the files and notes that Jinyoung has left him.

“You work from 9 to 5 and still manage to come in late.”

And he’s just back from the coffee break…

Jaebum looks up at his friend who’s looking at him judgmentally (which is how he looks at people almost all the time), thick eyebrows furrowed.

“I have a good motive, though.”

“You better have,” Jinyoung says, taking a seat on the chair in front of his desk.

“Last night was our 100 Day Anniversary. And it was also our first time.”

“Spare me the details, please.”

“I was going to. We’re good friends, but not _that_ much. Besides, this is something me and Youngjae _only_. No one else –”

“Ok, hold on,” Jinyoung leans back in his chair, bemused. “A few months ago my playboy friend would be bragging about the guys he’s had sex with, changing boyfriends every couple of months –”

“You’re making me look like a whore!”

“You kinda were.”

Jaebum grits his teeth, “How about some respect? After all, I’m your hyung.”

“Whatever. You _have_ to introduce me to Youngjae because it’s only been 100 days and he’s made you end that fake-boyfriend bullshit you had going on for _years_ now, makes you get a real job. Like, goddamn, is he holding you at gunpoint, bossing you around, or you’re just that whipped?”

“He didn’t ask me to do any of this,” Jaebum says, looking at the tasks Jinyoung wrote down on the sticky notes that are pretty much in everything that there is on his desk.

“Ok, you’re _that_ whipped.” Jinyoung smiles, eyes crinkling so much that they’re almost disappear, “I’m happy for you. You’re finally behaving like an adult.” He leans forward, resting his forearms on the desk’s surface, “But I was serious about meeting him, though. Why don’t you two come over for dinner at my place? You know, double date kinda thing.”

“I don’t know if he’ll be on board with it. He’s a little shy. But if you don’t mind him bringing his housemates who are also a couple, he might say yes.”

“Triple date it is. Then let me know about his answer, alright?” Jinyoung says as he gets up and walks to his desk.

“We have to go to court this afternoon, don’t we?”

Jinyoung looks back, “You’re the one who’s the assistant. It’s your job to know these things.”

“I’m just trying to get my bearings. There’s a ton shit of notes everywhere,” Jaebum says, trying to create a to-do list in his head. 

“Yes, we’re going to court after lunch. I’ll be needing copies of those files for the hearing and there are a couple more papers you still need to fetch.” Jinyoung flashes a despicable smirk, “Now, if you don’t like the sticky notes, don’t come in late and I’ll tell you the day’s errands instead of having to write them down.”

The glare Jaebum sends to Jinyoung reads ‘ _fuck you_ ’ in that unique, affective manner that only long-time friends can express.

~x~

When Jackson walks in the teachers’ lounge to have lunch and doesn’t see Youngjae, he finds it strange. Youngjae has a voracious appetite and is usually one of the first teachers to sit down at the tables. He walks the school halls to the music classroom. Jackson finds him sleeping at his desk, head rested on his forearms, a pen digging into his cheek. He was going to pat his back to wake him up but decides to do something else because his mental age is either of a 24-year-old man or of a 5-year-old child, there’s no in-between. He takes the whistle he carries hanging around his neck to his mouth and blows it with all his might right next to Youngjae’s ear. The poor young man wakes up startled and he just doesn’t fall on the floor because he holds on tightly to the edge of the desk.

“Are you are out of your mind?” he chastises, gently scratching his ear canal.

Jackson is laughing (his usual high-pitched hyena laugh) as he leans against the desk. Youngjae loudly smacks his thick thigh and has him whining under his breath.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“It’s lunchtime and I didn’t find you in the teachers’ room. Decided to look for you here,” Jackson explains. He takes one quick look at Youngjae; he has a huge, purplish hickey on his neck and he’s wearing a shirt that clearly isn’t his, “Last night was that good, uh?”

This time Youngjae hits him on the chest.

“Ow,” Jackson presses his flat palm against his new injury. “Do you know how hard you hit people?”

“We’re at an elementary school, Jackson!”

“It’s lunchtime, there’s no one to hear our conversation. But seriously, did he rip off your shirt or you’re just wearing his ‘cause you wanted to feel a little closer to him during the day? That’d be cute –“

“I’m not wea...” Youngjae looks down at the shirt he’s wearing; it’s Jaebum’s.

“You were saying?” Jackson is grinning.

“Let’s have lunch? I’m starving.”

“Bet you are.” He gets smacked on the chest. Again. “Can you stop? My chest is sensitive.”

Youngjae grabs his things and leaves the classroom with Jackson. He decides to forget about his Tupperware with organic food that is in the fridge at the teachers’ lounge and joins Youngjae who is going to have lunch at a restaurant nearby.

“Don’t hit me again, ok,” Jackson begins, keeping a reasonable distance between them, _just in case_ , “but do you want me to lend you my deodorant or let you shower in –“

“Why? Do I smell weird?”

“You smell like sweat, cum and lube. If not by that huge hickey on your neck, anyone can tell you had sex just from that body odor of yours.”

Youngjae’s face reddens from embarrassment and he refrains himself from hitting Jackson again. While they’re eating, Youngjae checks his phone; he has two texts from Jaebum.

**Jaebumie hyung**

You know you have my shirt right?<

I’d tell you to come over later to return it but I have to go to court. Dunno how long it’ll take there.<

_12:03_

>It’s fine. I have a teachers’ meeting this evening. Don’t know how long it’ll take either.

_13:25_

>We’ll meet another day. I still owe you something ;) Ttyl

_13:26_

~x~

The “We’ll meet another day” day doesn’t happen until a week later. Jaebum and Youngjae talk on the phone, but because of work, they don’t have time to meet up. One day, when Yugyeom and Bambam tell him that they won’t be home before dinnertime, Youngjae invites Jaebum to come over. They’re on that phase in which they can barely keep their hands off each other, so as soon as they enter the front door, they’re making out. They hit everything on the way to the couch. Youngjae’s thighs hit the armrest and he ends over toppling over the couch, Jaebum falling on top of him. Their chuckles and the wet sounds of their kisses fill the air.

They don’t waste much time with teasing. Pieces of clothes are being carelessly stripped off and thrown away.  Jaebum is lying on his back, Youngjae’s head is between his legs, licking up his shaft in a way that is too lewd for Jaebum’s eyes. He moans and tangles his fingers on Youngjae’s hair, enjoying the shit out of it. Youngjae takes him into his mouth, running his tongue over the ridges and the vein, hollowing his cheeks as he sucks him off. Jaebum is so, so close that when Youngjae’s hot mouth abandons his dick, he opens his eyes to see what’s happening. Youngjae is straddling him, ready to sink Jaebum’s length inside him.

“Let’s try it the other way ‘round,” Jaebum says, gasping for air.

Youngjae is somewhat confused, “You want me to turn –”

“No,” Jaebum sits up and cups Youngjae’s ass, looking him dead in the eye, “the _other_ way around.”

“That would mean _I_ ’ll be the one –”

“You flipped me over last time. You clearly had something in mind.”

Youngjae thanks God that his cheeks are already bright red or else his flush would have been noticeable. “That was a spur of the moment kinda thing. I never – I was always the one who, you know.”

“Too bad,” he lies on his back again, “but just so you know, ever since I saw it,” Jaebum gently grazes Youngjae’s dick with the tip of his fingers, “I’ve been imagining how it’d feel inside me.”

“You want me to do it?”

At first he can only nod, gazing Youngjae’s naked body, but then his voice comes out raspy, “Yeah.”

“Wait a sec then,” Youngjae gets up and goes to his bedroom to grab the lube and condoms.

Three months. Three months and Jaebum already knows how to push all of Youngjae’s buttons. He said it first time they kissed; he’s not as innocent as he looks. Youngjae is a bit shy but when he’s into it, hell, he shows off a whole different side of himself. Jaebum avidly feeds off it. But what he loves the most about Youngjae isn’t how quick his sex drive flicks on, or the not so innocent side of him, but is the way he is, that soft-hearted, loveable side of his. He’d really like to know if this is what it feels to be in love because he never loved anyone before. If this is what being in love feels like, then he wants to enjoy every second of it for the rest of his life.  

Jaebum is abruptly pulled away from his thoughts when he feels two, _two_ lubed fingers sliding between his legs at once, working him up slowly. At first it feels weird and uncomfortable because if Youngjae had always been the one who was fucked, Jaebum was always the one who fucked his partners.

“Relax,” Youngjae’s tone is soft as he slides his fingers in and out of him, the other hand soothingly rubbing slow circles in his stomach. “Take a deep breath, hyung.”

Jaebum does as he’s asked. Youngjae curls his fingers and touches him _right there_. He swallows hard, back arching.

“Do that again,” Jaebum gasps.

He fulfills his request, one, two, three times. Jaebum is quivering, breathing hard and fast. Youngjae is loving being in control, knowing that he’s the one who’s causing Jaebum all that pleasure.

Leaning over him, Youngjae whispers in his ear, “Feeling good?”

“You have no idea,” Jaebum smirks. He bites his lower lip and lets out a loud groan, “I’m so close, don’t let me –” Letting out a shaky moan, Jaebum wraps a hand around Youngjae’s wrist and stills his hand. “I need you now.”

Youngjae removes his fingers. “How do I – where do you want me, hyung?”

“Sit.”

He does what he’s asked. While Jaebum gets to his shaky knees, Youngjae slips on a condom. Jaebum uses his boyfriend’s shoulders as a brace, thighs quivering as he positions himself, knees on each side of Youngjae’s legs. Jaebum’s expression change from pain to pleasure the more he sinks down on his length.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he mumbles, still adjusting to the size.

Youngjae is staring at his boyfriend sitting in his lap. He never had anyone in his lap before and now he can understand why it’s so fucking sexy. Jaebum’s gaze is penetrating Youngjae’s soul to the point that it’s making him feel weak on his knees. He had never been under someone’s mercy before and now he can understand why it feels so good. This is a whole new experience for the two of them.

“Do whatever you want with me,” Jaebum says.

“Whatever I –”

“Whatever you want. Take control and do whatever you want with me.”

He slumps his head back, a clear invitation for Youngjae to lean forward and suck on his neck. He starts lifting and sinking down Jaebum’s hips. The latter understands and starts rolling his hips himself. The two of them are panting, Jaebum dropping forward, bumping his chest again Youngjae’s.

“Baby boy?” Jaebum asks in a pant.

“Yeah, hyung?” Youngjae’s tone isn’t much different.

“I need a little more,” he says, grabbing one of Youngjae’s hands, guiding it to his pearling, forgotten cock that is trapped between their bellies.

Youngjae wraps one arm around him and stills him in his lap. He plants his feet farther apart on the floor, leaning back against the couch. He digs his heels into the floor and begins thrusting upwards. Jaebum moans; he has just found his prostate again. He had never been able to reach the sweet spot, and the way that Youngjae thrusts into him is driving him insane. Not to mention how amazingly well he’s pumping him with a tight yet gentle grip around his cock. Jaebum’s head rests in the crook of Youngjae’s neck as he reaches his high. He’s moaning, loudly, falling apart in Youngjae’s lap and hands. A few more thrusts and Youngjae is leaning his head against the back of the couch, moaning as well. They pull away, breathes ragged, hair tussled, bodies still shuddering.

“I can get used to this,” Jaebum says.

Youngjae gulps in some air, “Me too.”

“Your friends are gonna hate us so much if they know what we’ve just done here.”

“I think they’ve done things here too.”

Jaebum pulls a disgusted face, “I don’t feel so comfortable sitting here anymore.”

Youngjae chuckles and gets up. He’s now self-conscious that he’s naked. Even though this is apartment, and he and Jaebum have seen each other naked, the lack of clothes is making him feel awkward.

“Shower?” Youngjae suggests. “I’ll lend you some clean clothes.”

“Doubt they’ll fit me, but I appreciate the thought.”

“I always buy baggy clothes. I’m sure something will fit you.”

Youngjae likes the water to be scalding hot and it causes Jaebum to lean back against the cold tiled wall, trying not to get his skin peeled off. Eventually the younger one agrees to regulate the temperature to suit his boyfriend’s liking and manages to pry him away from the wall. They scrub each other’s backs (there’s a comment from Youngjae suggesting that maybe they should go to a bath house one day) and waste half the bottle of Bambam’s shampoo because it smells too good. They pepper each other’s skin with kisses until cold water forces them to step out of the shower.

“Hyung?” Youngjae turns around, being face to face with Jaebum. “Tell me honestly…” he bites his lower lip, “was it anything like you imagined?”

“It was nothing like I imagined. I’d get on my knees and pay you back for all that but I still can’t feel my legs that well.” He kisses his lips, “I loved it.”

Youngjae’s stomach loudly growls when Jaebum pulls back.

“Should I make dinner?” Jaebum asks, smirking.

“Count Bambam and Yugyeom too. They said they’d be back by dinnertime.”

He nods his head and starts putting his clothes on; Youngjae slips into a pair of sweatpants and puts on a T-shirt, Jaebum wears his jeans and one of Youngjae’s hoodies.

“Ugh,” Youngjae groans as he’s drying his hair with a towel. “I forgot about the tests again. I promised the kids I’d hand them back this week but I only graded half of them.”

“I can give you a hand with that.” Jaebum says, wrapping his arms around Youngjae’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. Youngjae looks at their reflection in the mirror, both half-dressed and hair damp, and finds it endearing. “I can add the points and calculate the percentages of some tests while you correct the others.”

“Really?” Youngjae’s lip slightly pouts and it’s adorable, “You don’t mind helping me out?”

Pressing a kiss to his neck, Jaebum smiles, “Not at all.”

“You’re amazing, hyung.”

When Yugyeom and Bambam arrive home, they’re met with the smell of food. Following the scent to the kitchen, they see Youngjae and Jaebum at the kitchen table, grading tests, the younger sitting on the older’s lap. The position works great for both because Youngjae is right-handed and Jaebum left-handed. They look downright adorable, and whatever doubts Yugyeom and Bambam had about Jaebum (this is their first time meeting Jaebum in person, and considering Youngjae's last boyfriend, they were very protective of their hyung), they dissipated right away.


	5. Sign

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't know, after Youngjae moved out of the dorm to live with his brother, JB not only brought Nora back to the dorm, he also adopted two stray cats, [ Kunta and Odd ](https://twitter.com/bluebaby28/status/848466797896413184)

It takes Youngjae, Bambam and Yugyeom almost a month to accept Jinyoung’s invitation to dine at his place. Finally they agree and the three of them go to Jaebum’s apartment who will give them a ride to Jinyoung and Mark’s (he is _so_ glad Jaebum finally bought a car). As he’s still getting ready when Youngjae tells him that he and his friends are arriving, he texts him the door’s numpad password, so that they can enter his apartment.

“Hyung?” Youngjae calls out as soon as they enter, letting him know they’ve arrived.

“Bedroom,” Jaebum replies. And that’s where Youngjae heads to.

“Oh, cute cat,” Yugyeom says, walking to the small, white cat. Bambam follows his boyfriend.

(Youngjae clearly didn’t see the white cat. Or the black one. He thought Yugyeom was talking about Nora.)

“Hey,” Youngjae smiles, pressing a kiss to Jaebum’s lips, “ready?”

“Almost. Had to change my clothes ‘cause they were full of cat hair and I didn’t want to have you sneezing all night.”

“That’s sweet of you, but you could make things even easier if you’d give Nora –”

“I’m not giving my baby away,” Jaebum whines and it’s ridiculously cute ( _and he says he can’t act cute_ …). “I know it sucks because of your allergies, but so far there have been no problems. Would you like it if I was allergic to dogs and asked you to give Coco away?”

“Alright, you win,” Youngjae sighs. “I’ll wait for you in the living room. Bambam and Yugyeom must be feeling awkward being there, all alone.”

“I’m going too. I’m all done here,” he says.

The two leave the bedroom, and when they get to the living room, Yugyeom is sitting on the floor, petting Nora, and Bambam is nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Bambam?”

Yugyeom is scratching behind the cat’s furry ears and doesn’t even look up, “He’s in the kitchen with the other cat.”

Youngjae frowns and looks at Jaebum. _The other cat?_ Jaebum shrugs, feigning ignorance, and watches his boyfriend walk to the kitchen. And, it is true; Bambam is on his knees, petting a big, black cat that is eating from Nora’s bowl.

"Hyung? There's another cat here."

"That’s Kunta," he says approaching Youngjae, keeping a reasonable distance between them, though, because he's holding in his arms the small, white cat that Youngjae didn’t notice earlier, "and this is Odd."

"And this is Youngjae, your boyfriend who's allergic to cats," he points out.

Jaebum smiles, putting Odd down on the floor. He wraps his arms around Youngjae's waist and pecks his lips.

"Three cats, really?" Youngjae says, raising a brow.

"I'm sorry. I'm addicted to adopting cats, I guess."

"Are you subtly trying to tell me that you don't want me to come over?" Youngjae frowns, a hint of cheekiness in his tone.

"No," Jaebum is chuckling, "of course not."

"So you just want to see me high on antihistamines all the time."

"Ow! Fuck!" Bambam loudly yells, clutching one of his hands with the other against his chest.

"Did Kunta scratch you?" Jaebum asks, walking to Bambam.

"No. I just decided to yell just because," he sarcastically spits out.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Youngjae mumbles under his breath.

Jaebum pulls Bambam to the kitchen's sink and washes the back of his hand, some blood going down the drain.

"Kunta is a bit feisty. Gives me a couple of scratches too." Jaebum explains. "But this is your fault. You should never pet a cat, or any animal, while they're eating."

"Thank you for the info. Comes in a bit too late but thanks anyways."

"Be nice, Bamie," Yugyeom says from the living room. "It was your fault."

Bambam heaves a sigh and turns to Jaebum, sounding just like a sulky kid, "Sorry."

"It's fine," he hands him a few paper towels so that he can dry his hand, "Let me just get you some antiseptic ointment."

After Bambam’s cuts are tended to, they leave to Mark and Jinyoung’s apartment.

~x~

It’s Jinyoung who comes to open the door for them. He greets his friend, who is the first one to enter, and then takes a step back, gesturing for the other three guests to enter. They shyly make their way inside, bowing as they walk in, toeing off their shoes by the entrance hall. Jinyoung guides them to the living room where he was setting the table; introducing each other here is better than in the small entry hall. The living room is roomy but doesn’t have much. The walls are of a soft crème color, and there’s a big window at the end of the room. A white, fabric couch is pushed against the wall to their right, a small TV stand with a flat TV is directly in front of it. There are a two wall shelves on each side of the TV stand, filled with books and a lot of photos in frames, all of them of different shapes and colors. A big dining table occupies the rest of the room. The guests realize when they see the billiards cue rack on the corner of the room that Mark and Jinyoung own a fusion pool table.

“Mark, c’mere for a sec,” Jinyoung calls out.

Mark comes from the kitchen, wearing an apron, a dish cloth thrown over his shoulder. They start their introductions; a lot of handshakes are exchanged and names are repeated two or three times. Jaebum expects Bambam and Yugyeom to feel the most awkward people in the room, but they blend in just fine, unlike Youngjae. He clings to Jaebum the entire time, almost too afraid to even say his name.

“What’s the matter, Jae?” he asks, pressing a kiss to Youngjae’s temple.

“I dunno,” he mumbles, ready to chug down the glass of wine that Jinyoung offers him.

“Slow down with that,” Jaebum takes the glass from his hands and puts it on the table. He snakes an arm around Youngjae's waist and pulls him close against his side, “There’s no reason for you to feel awkward. You have me, you have Bambam and Yugyeom. If it makes you feel better, Mark is a really quiet guy so you won’t have to worry about him asking you things. And Jinyoung can materialize out of thin air when people are uncomfortable, so you don’t have to worry about him either. They’re both really nice,” he adds in a lower tone, “don’t ever tell ‘em that.”

Youngjae smiles a little but starts rambling, “Don’t they have a dog? Or any pet? When people have pets, I feel a little more at ease, you know? I can always turn to them –”

“I can be your puppy.”

“Stop being cheesy,” he smacks him on the chest.

“Call me cheesy again and I’ll lick your face.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me,” Jaebum sticks out his tongue and leans towards Youngjae who one tries to push him away.

“Guys, please, dessert only after dinner. And please don’t do it at my house,” Jinyoung says, before heading to the kitchen.

Upon hearing that, Bambam whispers into Yugyeom’s ear, “I’ll still suck you off in their bathroom.”

Yugyeom turns as red as the wine he’s drinking.

“Take a seat guys. Mark says dinner’s ready,” Jinyoung announces.

Youngjae, Yugyeom and Bambam sit on one side of the table; Jaebum, Jinyoung and Mark, once he’s back, sit on the other side, so that the couples are sitting facing each other. Mark shows up, bringing the condiment bottles and leaving them on the table.

“What did you make?” Jaebum attempts to ask before Mark goes back to the kitchen but isn’t successful.

Jinyoung tells them instead, “Mark went all American and decided to make burgers.”

“You can’t go wrong with burgers,” Mark says, bringing a tray full ( _really_ full) of French fries. “I even made extra burgers, just in case. I didn’t know if you guys are big eaters like me, so…”

Jinyoung is looking at the ridiculous amount of fries that are on the table, “Define _extra burgers_.”

“I made, uh 15 in total?”

“I leave you alone in the kitchen for an hour and you make 15 burgers and fry 2 pounds of fries?”

Bambam chuckles, “He’s the person from the math problems.”

“Should I change our doorbell’s name tag to McDonald’s?” Jinyoung is still incredulous.

“I can easily eat two burgers myself,” Mark states.

Youngjae adds, “Bambam and Yugyeom too.”

“See?” Mark turns to his boyfriend. “That’s already 6 burgers, not counting you, JB and Youngjae.”

“Just go get the food, will you?”

“Help me then.”

Jinyoung sighs as he gets up and follows his boyfriend to the kitchen. The two are still mumbling things at each other.

“They’re gonna go on all night with this, so don’t mind ‘em,” Jaebum says. “They act so married it’s disgusting to watch sometimes.”

They eventually start eating and are discussing a variety of topics that range from talking about their daily lives to a heated argument about putting or not pineapple on pizza. Mark and Bambam bond over the fact that they are both foreigners, Jinyoung and Yugyeom share funny stories on how their foreigner boyfriends have mispronounced words or misunderstood situations. Jaebum lets everyone know (expect for Mark who already knows this) that he and Jinyoung used to dance in college; Yugyeom challenges them for a dance battle after dinner. (It’s hilarious; Yugyeom is an almighty God when it comes to dance, but because he stuffed his face with dinner, he can’t even do a proper body roll. Jinyoung is super cocky and goes all out, but ends up looking like he’s doing martial arts. Everyone laughs and can’t take him seriously anymore – meaning, seeing him as a lawyer – after he’s done dancing. Jaebum tries to show off, doing some b-boy moves, but he forgets that he’s in a small room and that he ate a lot. He falls flat on the floor with a loud thud and the neighbor from the apartment below comes to ring on their bell, to make sure no one died.)

Bambam and Mark feel each other’s pain as they share work stories, complaining that their bosses are absolute tyrants (they are clearly overreacting). Yugyeom says that Bambam is an overreacting dork and it leads to another heated argument as the three couples try to figure out who is the ultimate dork of each relationship. Towards the end of the dinner, Yugyeom adorably asks if maybe they can play a little bit of billiards and Jinyoung tells him that he was going to suggest just that. Youngjae says he won’t play because he doesn’t know how to; Jaebum insists that he’ll help him (“ _’cause you’re a pro player who always wins at everything_ ”, Jinyoung teases) but the younger continues to argue that he’s better playing in front of a screen than in real life. Mark asks him what video games he likes to play, which causes Jinyoung and Jaebum to heave a deep sigh and leave their video game addicted boyfriends chatting (geeking out, actually…). The billiards game is disputed between Swag Team and JJ Team (they picked the names themselves); the game ends with the maknaes’ win. During the game, the extra burgers that Mark made are devoured along with a couple of beers. (“ _See, why were you worried about it?_ ” Mark says. Jinyoung rolls his eyes and doesn’t even say a word.)

It’s a little over 11 PM when they decide to call it a night. There’s a promise, though, to schedule another dinner. Everyone got along pretty well and they all genuinely liked each other. Jaebum drives his boyfriend and his housemates back home. Once they arrive, he walks upstairs with them. Yugyeom and Bambam thank Jaebum for having thought of them as guests to dinner with his friends, and thank him for the ride back home. The two enter the apartment and close the door. Youngjae is smiling, radiant as always, expectantly looking at his boyfriend.

“I need to tell you something,” Jaebum begins.

“Me too. Can I go first?”

“No. I –”

“Too bad. I’m starting first,” Youngjae presses his lips on Jaebum’s, soft and slow.

“Youngjae, I –”

“I love you.” Jaebum is stunned, Youngjae offers him a reassuring smile, “You don’t have to say it back, hyung. It’s fine. This is just the romantic side of me who always babbles louder than my rational side. I don’t want this to bother you, ok?”

Jaebum puts a soft kiss on Youngjae’s forehead, which surprises him and makes him look into Jaebum’s eyes. He then puts a kiss on the tip of his nose and kisses him on the lips, stroking his cheek with his thumb. One of Youngjae’s hands goes around his neck, his fingers carding through the hair on Jaebum’s nape, and the other one flattens over his chest. As they kiss, hard, fast, hungrily, Jaebum pushes Youngjae against the door behind him, tightly grasping the fabric of his shirt in his hand. The kiss then starts to soften and they melt away, lazily pecking each other’s lips, burning their last bits of oxygen. They both feel their lungs burning, needing air.

“You drive me crazy,” Jaebum says.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Jaebum grabs Youngjae’s hand and pulls him to the elevator doors, “Come with me.”

Youngjae feels giddy, a big smile on his face, “Where?”

“Anywhere we want.”

Once they’re outside, Youngjae asks, “Can I take you to my favorite place in the city?”

Jaebum holds out his hand to Youngjae, “Lead the way.”

They find comfort in the way their hands fit together, fingers intertwining. Warmth pools in their stomachs as they clasp their hands tighter, a spark coursing through their veins. It spirals its way up their spines and makes their hearts beat a little faster. They walk in silence, taking in every little sound that the city offers. They exchange a few glances at each other when the other isn’t aware, love and admiration shining in their eyes.

The cars and buses rush through the busy streets of Gangnam. Bright neon lights light up and the colors of the traffic lights stand out in the dark of the night. The stars are infinite, looking like tiny diamonds spread all over the velvet-like black sky. Exhaust fumes mingle with the snacks scent coming from the street vendors' stalls. They stroll along the streets, hearing people’s conversations as rapid murmurs that buzz in their ears as they walk past them. Youngjae leads the way to the back of a tall building and pulls Jaebum to the fire escape ladder. The more the climb up, the more city’s atmosphere fades away. Everything is much quieter at the top, warm air gently whipping through their clothes, caressing their skin. The friction from the soles of their shoes on the gravel-y ground creates a pleasant sound. Youngjae takes a seat at the edge of the building, legs hanging off the edge. He looks back, his gaze inviting his boyfriend to join him. They're now sitting, side by side, looking over at the bustling city.

“I used to come here every time I felt scared and lost,” Youngjae is looking into the horizon, watching how the city lights blend in with the night sky. “It made me feel like I was on top of the world.” He grabs Jaebum’s index finger, guiding it to trace the letters scratched on the concrete where they’re sitting; it reads CYJ. “It made me feel like I belonged somewhere.”

Jaebum doesn’t know what to say; Youngjae gets a little closer to him and leans his head on his shoulder and he realizes that he doesn’t have to say anything. A droplet falls on Jaebum’s leg, the liquid slowly spreading out on the fabric of his jeans. Youngjae lifts his head to look into Jaebum’s eyes; the trace of the tear that rushed down his face is still visible.

“Hyung…” he says softly, not understanding what led Jaebum to cry, but feeling his heart hurting because of it.

Jaebum leans in and softly presses his lips on Youngjae’s. His tongue sweeps out against his lower lip, begging for entrance; Youngjae concedes. He tastes him, soft and slowly, savoring every bit of him. Youngjae moans, craving for a little more. The kiss goes from gentle and sweet to firm and ravishing, the once soft kiss is now brutalizing Youngjae’s lips, consuming all the oxygen in his lungs. Jaebum wants to lie him down on the floor, kiss and explore every inch of his skin, melt their bodies together and let him know how he makes him feel. None of that happens, though. The kiss slows down again because they pull away to breath. At least Youngjae does. Jaebum is peppering his face with little kisses; they’re so gentle, so passionate, that Youngjae is feeling breathless, near tears. Jaebum is whispering something against his skin, repeating it over and over again as he showers him with kisses but Youngjae can’t understand what it is because his lips barely pull away from his face, his hot breath tickling his skin. Youngjae is burning up; it’s all too much for him to handle. Jaebum rests his forehead against Youngjae’s and takes a while to recover his breath.

“Thank you,” Jaebum whispers.

Youngjae learns how frail Jaebum actually is. He’s like a burnt marshmallow; hard on the outside, soft on the inside. Jaebum had heard about how it feels to fall to in love with someone but he had never felt it before. Not until he met Youngjae. And the worst of it all was that he doesn't fall for him, he freefalls, every day, without a parachute.

“For what?”

“For trusting me and for opening up to me. For being the way you are. For loving me and for letting me love you back. Now I know where I belong.” He pecks his lips one more time. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Youngjae turns and plants his feet on the firm ground. He gets up and Jaebum watches him as he walks around the rooftop, eyes fixed on the ground. He bends down to pick something up and then makes the way back to his boyfriend. He hands him a small rock as he’s taking a seat next to him again; Jaebum doesn’t even question what he’s supposed to do with it. He starts scrawling ‘IJB’ on the concrete, right below Youngjae’s initials.  Now they both know where they belong. They stay there for almost an hour, gazing the bustling city below their feet and the starry sky above their heads; they belong here, with each other and everything fits together. Then they leave to wander around the city, walking hand in hand, without a care in the world, and the night seems never ending. Jaebum walks Youngjae back to his apartment, it’s already past 3 in the morning, and he ends up staying for the night. They don’t even strip their clothes or sleep under the covers; they sleep in each other’s embrace and wake up in the morning in the exact same position.

~x~

Yugyeom’s brain hasn't stopped working ever since they left Mark and Jinyoung’s apartment. The fact that Mark is American reminded him that he has pending issues to solve. He’s tossing and turning in bed, mulling over the same thing over and over again. His head is starting to hurt from overthinking. Every little noise bothers him, he feels too hot then too cold, and then he feels itchy here and there. Bambam is trying is best to sleep but his boyfriend is apparently hell-bent on the idea of shaking the whole bed. Yugyeom abruptly turns in bed and is now facing his Bambam’s back.

“Bamie?” he whispers.

“Um?” he mumbles, lips glued together, eyelids too heavy.

“Are you sleeping?”

“Um.”

The younger rolls his eyes, “What do you think of New York?”

Bambam’s voice is husky, tired and definitively pissed off, “Why are you asking me about New York at,” he grabs his phone, checking the hours, “2 in the morning?”

“A couple days ago I got a call from a guy who has a dance studio in New York.” Yugyeom says, getting Bambam’s attention. He turns in bed to listen to him, “He saw a few of my freestyle dance videos on YouTube.”

“And?”

“And he offered me a job at his academy,” Yugyeom tells him, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. The exhaustion is leading him to imagine patterns on the ceiling. “To be a teacher and a choreographer.”

“What did you tell him?” Bambam asks, propping his head on the pillow, resting his head on his hand.

“Told him I needed to think about it, of course. Your boss, the _big_ boss, has businesses in New York, right? You think if you’d ask to transfer to there, they’d accept it? I mean,” his voice grows a little quieter and insecure, “if you want to go with me. This is a big chance for me, and I know we’re still young and all that shit, but… I don’t want to do this without you.”

“Can we discuss this in the morning? I can’t process anything right now.”

“Right, of course. It’s late right now.”

Bambam draws his body closer to Yugyeom and holds him tightly in his embrace, “Get some sleep too, ‘k? Promise we’ll talk about this first thing in the morning.”

~x~

Jaebum wakes up with Youngjae’s hand running through his hair. When he opens his eyes, Youngjae is looking at him, half asleep but looking fully adorable.

“Watching me sleep?”

Youngjae smiles sleepily, “You drool a little. And you twitch your nose a lot. Makes you look like a little bunny. You do something like,” he imitates what he saw Jaebum do in his sleep.

“Well, you talk in your sleep,” Jaebum tells him. “I can’t catch half of what you say, but the stuff I do understand, boy, aren’t you a funny, strange thingy.” He starts to laugh and Youngjae playfully smacks him, “Tonight you said,” he starts mumbling, imitating Youngjae’s sleepy voice, “ _Just give Yugyeom the sauce and let him dance._ What kind of messed up things were you imagining?”

“That’s so weird. There’s no way I’ve said that.”

“Oh, you think that’s weird? Last week you sat up in bed, shouted _I can do that too Vin Diesel_ and then fell back asleep. Now, I don’t know what you were thinking of, but I _know_ that you _can’t_ do it. To even attempt it, you need to get your driver’s license first.”

“Don’t make fun of me,” he fake pouts. “You said you’d help me.”

“And am I not? Don’t we go to that building site on the weekends so that you can practice driving around?”

Youngjae gets interrupted by Jaebum’s phone alarm ringing. “What is it?”

“My alarm. Forgot to turn it off,” Jaebum says. Youngjae hids his face with an arm and groans. Jaebum seizes the moment to take a [photo](http://pm1.narvii.com/6361/22eb1e2fd59e42ebc599d437768fd87d7c125f02_hq.jpg); he looks so adorable. “Are we staying in bed till noon like last week?”

“Yes, please,” Youngjae whines, nuzzling Jaebum’s chest. His attention, however, drifts to the bedroom door; it opens slightly, and Coco walks in, coming to check on the noise she had heard. “C’mere, baby,” Jaebum is biting his lower lip, amusingly watching the small dog struggling to climb onto bed, until Youngjae smacks him, “Pick her up.”

Jaebum leans down and picks Coco up, settling the dog between the two of them. Coco starts licking Youngjae’s face and then turns to sniffle Jaebum. He smells like cats, as always, but she seems used to it by now.

“Watch out for –”

Youngjae’s warning is in vain; Coco is already pulling on one of Jaebum’s earrings. He’s groaning, trying to open the dog’s mouth, but the more he does it, the more Coco growls and tugs on his loop earring. Youngjae comes to the rescue and manages to pry Coco off Jaebum’s ear.

“Take off the earrings. You know she loves to pull on them.”

“One of these days, that thing is going to rip one of my ears off,” Jaebum is grumbling, taking off his earrings and placing them on the bedside table.

“If you keep calling Coco a _thing_ , I hope she eats your tongue.”

“Oh wow, you love that t –” Youngjae glares him, petting Coco; Jaebum amends, “you love _Coco_ more than you love me.”

“Jealous much?” he chuckles, rubbing the tip of his nose against Coco’s. Jaebum doesn’t reply. “Oh my God, you _actually_ are.” Youngjae laughs hard. “Look, baby, your other Dad is jealous.”

“Great, now I’m the dog’s _other Dad_.”

“You say I’m your cats’ other Dad, why can’t you be Coco’s other Dad?”

“Are we really discussing this?” Jaebum asks.

Youngjae giggles and draws his body closer to Jaebum, Coco snuggled between them. She entertains herself chewing on the drawstring of Youngjae’s hoodie as her humans fall asleep again.

~x~

Lazy Saturdays for Mark and Jinyoung mean doing absolutely nothing. Mark leaves for a run at around 9 in the morning while Jinyoung stays in bed, reading a book. After Mark is back from running, he goes to take a shower, and that’s when Jinyoung gets out of bed to make breakfast. They always eat pancakes and have a cup of coffee each. Today’s routine is different and it’s all because Jinyoung decided to rummage through their closet, looking for his favorite sweater, and found something else. When Mark arrives home, Jinyoung is making breakfast in the kitchen, as it usually happens, but when they sit down at the table to eat, things aren’t so normal. Mark is scrolling through the news on his tablet and is feeling bothered by the way Jinyoung is looking at him.

“Everythin’ ok?” Mark asks, in English.

“Went to look for this sweater in our closet,” Jinyoung begins, one hand going to the pocket of his sweatpants. “Guess what else I found?”

He tosses a ring over the table top. Mark almost chokes swallowing the food he has in his mouth. Jinyoung looks pissed off and upset.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Mark awkwardly smiles, grabbing the engagement ring. “I was going to –”

“I don’t care. I don’t want it, Mark.”

“What do you mean _you don’t want it_? I –”

“How can I want something I know I can’t have?” Jinyoung’s jaw tenses. “You know that we can’t have this. We can’t marry, Mark. Why did you do this?”

Mark gets up without saying a word and goes to their bedroom. Jinyoung follows his movements with the eyes but doesn’t move or say a word. He returns to the kitchen and throws a stuffed envelope over the table.

“You didn’t see this when you found the ring?” Mark asks, taking a seat again and continuing to eat.

Jinyoung opens the envelope; it’s full of money. “Where did you get all this money?”

“I’ve been saving it up for months now.”

“You've been saving it up so that we can get married in the States?”

Mark looks up, “So that we can start a life in the States. Let’s face it, we can’t live a life here. We’ve been together for almost 5 years now and I want more than what we have. I want to marry you, to start a family with you, to grow old with you, and I don't see that happening here in a near future. My parents said that we can move in with them until we get a house of our own. You can take the Bar Exam and practice there, I can go back to school, we can...” he heaves a sigh.

“You’ve thought this through.”

“I did. Because there’s nothing else I want in life than to be with you, but I want to be with you in a place where we can actually _be_ together. Legally and all that shit. I mean, you’re the lawyer here, you probably know better about that than me.”

“Mark Yien Tuan,” Jinyoung starts seriously, “I’m gonna pretend I’ve never seen that ring and you’re gonna propose to me.”

Mark smiles, big and bright, “So, we’re doing this?” He grabs the ring, ready to slid down the chair he’s sitting on and go down on one knee, “I can do this right n –”

“Nah-uh. You’re going to propose to me the way you were planning to do it. I deserve better than to be asked in marriage in a kitchen, don’t you think?”

“I won’t marry you if you’re this high-maintenance, sassy –”

“You love me the way I am.”

“Yes I do.” Mark pushes the ring and the envelope aside. He is laughing like a five-year-old and almost, _almost_ , looks too innocent when he asks, “Can I do you on this table?”

“No. We eat on this table. That counter, though…” Jinyoung casts a glance at the kitchen counter behind Mark.

“I cook on that counter.”

“Bed then?”

Mark crinkles his nose, “Too far.”

“What are you? 60 and rheumatic?”

“Will you love me even when I’m bald, crinkling and aching?”

Jinyoung smiles as he heaves a sigh, “I’m marrying a dork.”

“You love me the way I am.”

“You can’t use my words against me.”

Mark gets up and laces an arm around Jinyoung’s middle, pulling him to the bedroom, “Is there any law against it?”

“No. But I can always cuff you to the bed and enforce my authority nonetheless.”

“Kinky, but last time I checked, I was the one on the way to the police academy, not you, Mr. Tuan.”

“Ok, as flattering as it’ll be to be your husband, we are hyphenating our surnames and my name will be Jinyoung Tuan-Park.”

Mark chuckles. He pushes Jinyoung onto the bed and lies on top of him, kissing him. “Park-Tuan sounds better than Tuan-Park. Your name will be Jinyoung Park-Tuan.”

“We’ll see about that.”

(The _Park-Tuan_ wedding happens in five months. Jaebum is Jinyoung’s best man, while Mark’s is his little brother, Joey. Everything goes as planned…ish. Mark’s nieces, Kylie and Leila, are the ring bearers; Kylie loses one of the rings while Leila swipes a finger on the wedding cake’s cover once she sees it. Youngjae spends half a day walking around with Jinyoung’s grandmother because she links arms with him and doesn’t let him go – “ _he’s such a nice young man_ ” the woman tells her grandson when he tries, for the nth time, to pull her away from Youngjae. Jaebum spends the whole wedding day nursing a hangover. Mark’s father makes an improvised speech solely with the purpose of embarrassing him, – “ _Mark’s nickname when he was young was Little Cock_ ” being only one of the many embarrassing things he reveals – and Mark just wants to hide, or die, whatever’s easier. Jinyoung’s mother complains, the day after the wedding, about the people that slept on the room next door who were indecently loud while going at it. Two of the guests have an affair and it leads to a divorce. All in all, Mark and Jinyoung get married and that’s all that matters.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be an entire chapter dedicated to Markjin's wedding.


	6. Don't Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare your emotions. This chapter has fluff, smut and angst and I hope you make it to the end.

Deep down, Youngjae was hoping that the status of the flight to New York changed to 'delayed' or 'cancelled'. Instead, the departure board informs the passengers to go to the boarding gate. He wants just one more hour with Yugyeom and Bambam. It seems silly but Youngjae just wants one more moment with the two of them. They lived together ever since they got out of college. They shared countless memories, good and bad ones, and Youngjae knows that they are leaving to live a better life, that they are going to pursuit their dreams, but part of him is being selfish. He wants them to stay. He doesn’t want things to change.

The maknaes tighten the grip on the straps of their carry-on bags and turn to Youngjae. He doesn't speak. He doesn't even look up from floor, hands stuffed in his jeans pockets.

“Oh, c’mon hyung, you promised you wouldn’t cry,” Bambam says.

“’m not crying,” he mumbles, on the verge of tears.

Yugyeom puts down his bag and pulls Youngjae in for a tight hug. “We’ll miss you too, hyung.”

Bambam ruffles Youngjae’s strawberry blond dyed hair before hugging him from behind. Youngjae is sandwiched between his two friends and he even doesn’t care. They pull away after a while, after making sure that Youngjae won’t cry. Yugyeom is looking around, grumbling that people are staring at them, thinking that they are weird, when in reality he’s looking away, trying not to cry.

“Hey, look on the bright side,” Bambam starts, “with me and Gyeom out of the apartment, you can ask Jaebum hyung to move in with you. And don’t say it’s too early for that because you’ve been dating for 8 months. Now’s the right time to move in together.”

Youngjae heaves a long sigh, “I’m actually going to miss you two brats.”

“I can send you derp selfies every day so that you don’t forget this handsome face.”

“No thanks.” Youngjae offers a weak smile and takes another sigh, “You guys better go now. Let’s not delay the inevitable.”

“We’ll be in touch,” Bambam says, adjusting the strap of his backpack on his shoulder.

He waves goodbye and starts walking away, wrapping his arm around Yugyeom’s waist. He looks back and just from the look in Bambam's eyes, Youngjae understands that the youngest won’t even look back to wave goodbye. That’s how Yugyeom deals with things, and Youngjae doesn’t resent it.

Youngjae stays until the status of the flight to New York changes from ‘boarding’ to ‘departed’. Only then he returns to the apartment, and it has never felt so empty and quiet.

He follows Bambam’s advice and asks Jaebum to move in with him. It takes them three days to pack all of Jaebum’s stuff and two whole weeks to find a place for all of it at _their_ apartment. Youngjae had been to the doctor earlier and he said that if he could live with cats for a few months, then it meant that maybe he could live with them, without experiencing full-force allergic reactions. Jaebum is glad to hear that he can take Nora, Kunta and Odd to live with them. The first weeks after Jaebum moves in with Youngjae are hilarious. The two of them act just like a couple, and despite the fact that they start to pick up each other’s little flaws, they love that. It makes them feel that they are in a comfortable, mature (ish), stable relationship.

Youngjae likes everything tidy but he’s the messiest person Jaebum has ever met. Everything he owns is _everywhere_ around the house _except_ where it actually belongs; Jaebum is always nagging him to put everything in its place. Jaebum likes things to be tidy too but he’s the laziest person Youngjae has ever met. He likes to boss around and is always grumbling under his breath when he has to do chores. Youngjae can’t cook to save his life and Jaebum has ruined three of Youngjae’s shirts while doing the laundry. They decide that Youngjae deals with the laundry and Jaebum takes over the kitchen affairs. They never agree on who should clean the toilet or who should take out the trash. They don’t argue about which side of the bed they prefer, but it doesn’t mean that the bedroom matters are not problematic. Youngjae talks in sleep (sometimes he’s funny, other times he’s annoying, and every now and then he’s creepy as fuck) and Jaebum either kicks back the bed clothes or clings to his boyfriend (Youngjae either awakes up as cold as an iceberg or as hot as a furnace). Youngjae gets his driver’s license (his Dad feels like throwing a party once he learns about it) but Jaebum is almost always the one who drives, so the younger resorts to being the backseat driver (sometimes Jaebum wants to duct tape his mouth). Jaebum watches movies and catches up with dramas (which he claims to hate to death) or episodes of the series they follow, and then loves to spoil the plot to Youngjae later.

They’re favorite sound in the whole world becomes each other’s voices as they are walking in home and say ‘ _Jae/Bumie, I’m home_ ’. It feels very domestic coming home and toe off their shoes by the entrance hall while checking the mail and saunter into the house, looking for the other to give them a kiss. It feels very domestic waking up at noon on Sundays and going out for a walk around the city in the afternoon. It feels very domestic spending Friday nights cuddled on the couch, their concept of _Netflix and chill_ being a little different than everyone else’s (first they do the _chill_ , then they do the _Netflix_ part). Everything feels nice and couple-y and they can’t be more in love with it, and be more in love with each other.

~x~

Youngjae doesn’t know what else to do. He pulls his pants up again and walks to the bathroom, to wash his hands. This is the second time he jerked off already, and it’s still not enough. He was starting to get a headache, and he had read somewhere that masturbating can help relieving headaches. He has to admit, it works. But then he got himself thinking of Jaebum and got hard again. He seriously tried to ignore it by watching some TV, but the unwanted desire between his legs wouldn’t go away, so he just had to take care of himself. He feels like an animal in heat, and he can’t help it. If only Jaebum would get home soon. Youngjae decides to text him because he’s taking too long to get home; he’s starting to wonder if something happened.

**Jaebumie hyung**

Bumie~ where are you?<

_18:58_

>Stuck in traffic. Be home soon.

>Why? Need something?

_18:58_

Yeah. I need you.<

<

_18:59_

>Oh…

_19:00_

I'll be in the bedroom.<

If you don't hurry up, I'll start stripping.<

_19:01_

>Don't you dare...

_19:01_

<

I already took care of myself twice today.<

_19:02_

I don’t want to do it a third time.<

_19:03_

 

>

>Baby boy, you better start apologizing to the neighbors cause they gonna hear you.

_19:05_

It takes Jaebum twenty minutes to arrive home. He swings the door open and hurriedly kicks off his shoes and strips off his wool jacket, tossing over to the couch.

“I’m home, baby boy. Where are you?”

He stops by the door of their bedroom and smirks. Youngjae is sitting in bed, back resting against the headboard, wearing nothing else but the black sleeveless shirt and boxer shorts. Jaebum’s gaze changes. He licks his lips at the sight of his thighs, his arms, his neck, at the sight of that naughty expression on his face. Youngjae beckons him with a finger and Jaebum walks to him like he’s hypnotized.

“Missed me that much?” Jaebum asks, straddling his lap.

Youngjae nods his head, bottom lip a little pouted, and Jaebum loses it; how can he look cute and sexy at the same time?

“I feel like a puppy in heat. Help me.”

Jaebum latches onto his neck, licking and sucking on his skin, and it’s driving Youngjae insane. A trail of saliva is dripping from Jaebum's lips as he pulls away from his neck. "You've jerked off twice already and you're still hard?" he rocks his hips, the pressure of their clothed bulges rubbing together causes both of them to moan quietly.

“It’s not the same. Only you make me feel that good.”

“God, baby boy,” Jaebum whispers into his ear before capturing his earlobe between his teeth and gently tugging on it, “you drive me insane saying things like that.”

Youngjae holds on tightly to the collar of his T-shirt and pulls him down for an open-mouthed kiss. There’s a lot of tongue involved, saliva dripping down their chins. Jaebum’s hands run up his sides and he tugs the shirt over Youngjae’s head. He crawls back and grabs Youngjae’s thighs, pulling him down until he’s lying on his back.  

“Hyung’s gonna take good care of you.”

Youngjae is completely at Jaebum’s mercy, just the way he had been craving the whole afternoon.

Jaebum begins by his thighs. He stretches Youngjae’s legs open, running his hand up and down his thighs, softly caressing his skin. He gives them a squeeze every now and then and Youngjae hums every time. He licks and nibbles his flesh, until his muscles are trembling. Then he moves to his crotch. He cups him through the underwear and massages him softly. Youngjae moans and squirms.

“Hyung, please.”

Jaebum laughs, “Oh, no, baby boy. You’ve been waiting for this for a while, so I’m gonna make it last.”

Jaebum is fondling him again and Youngjae is all moans and gasps. He hooks a finger on the waistband of his boxer shorts and tugs it down just a little bit. Youngjae instinctively lifts his hips off the mattress, waiting for his underwear to be stripped off. Jaebum smirks and leans down to bite on the bit of skin he exposed. He slides in his tongue too and Youngjae moans loudly, hooking a leg over him.

“Roll over,” Jaebum tells him, patting his thigh.

Youngjae lies down on his stomach, biting the pillow when Jaebum smacks one of his ass cheeks and then gives both a hard squeeze. He thrusts into the mattress, feeling Jaebum’s fingers kneading the soft flesh of his buttocks. Jaebum leans down to lick his spine from the coccyx up to the back of his neck. Youngjae gets goosebumps all over his body. Then he feels Jaebum giving little bites to his shoulder while dry humping him. Even though his face is pressed against the pillow, his moans get louder and louder. Jaebum tangles his fingers on his hair and lifts his face off the pillow, so that he can hear him moan.

“Hyung, please,” Youngjae begs, prancing up his butt. He seems eager to get on all four and be fucked.

“The more you beg, the more I’ll continue. Lie on your back.” When Youngjae rolls over, Jaebum straddles him again, and he can only think of one word as he looks down at him. “Gorgeous. If only you could imagine what I feel when I see you like this.”

“I have an idea,” he says between pants. “I feel the same when I look at you, under my body.”

“Thank God it’s not illegal to feel this good.”

Youngjae smirks, “I wouldn’t mind get arrested.”

Jaebum kisses him passionately, “Me neither.”

He harshly bites his neck and then licks the abused skin. He continues his way down to his collarbone and then to his chest. Jaebum swirls his tongue around his nipples, leisurely, and Youngjae digs his nails on his shoulder blade and scratches him all the way down his arm. His skin, under his shirt, is red and burning. Jaebum carries on, dropping kisses all over his torso until he reaches his navel. His mouth ghosts over his crotch, but Youngjae feels his hot breath nonetheless. Jaebum frees him of his underwear at last and Youngjae’s dick curves towards his belly, pre-cum smearing his stomach. Jaebum bends his legs, pulling his knees against his chest, and licks up from his perineum to the tip of his dick. The shaky moan that he lets out when Jaebum licks him is surely heard by everyone that lives on the same floor as them. Youngjae is sweating, balling the bed sheets in his hands, as Jaebum uses his tongue to tease his hole. He shifts his attention to his balls, gently sucking on them, and then he lowers his legs.

He takes two fingers to his lips and asks, “Suck ‘em.”

Youngjae grabs his wrist and slides Jaebum’s fingers in his mouth, coating them with saliva. He spreads them so that he can suck each finger at a time from the pad to the base. Youngjae makes a wet popping sound when Jaebum pulls his fingers off of his mouth. He smirks at the sight of his fingers dripping with saliva slowly entering Youngjae’s hole. He whines, spreading open his legs, heels digging into the mattress. Jaebum drags his tongue from the base to the tip of his cock, pumping his fingers at a slow pace.

“Hyung, please,” he begs, putting a head on Jaebum’s nape, forcing down his head.

Getting up to strip off his clothes would be pure evil; Youngjae is so worked up by now. As much as Jaebum would like to fuck him thoroughly, he decides to suck him off and finger him instead and let him have his release. The position is awkward for him, but he’s determined to make him orgasm.

“Then look at me,” Jaebum asks.

Youngjae props himself on his elbows and is looking at Jaebum as he blows him. His biceps quiver, however, and he ends up falling on his back again, moaning on the top of his lungs, tears brewing in his eyes. The orgasm that ripples through his body is so intense that he goes voiceless. The load of cum that shoots out of Youngjae is so much that Jaebum can barely contain it all in his mouth. His back arches, heels dig into the mattress and he throws his head back as Jaebum continues to suck him, determined to swallow his cum to the last drop. Jaebum only pulls away when Youngjae forces him to, feeling too sensitive. He slumps on his back, breathing hard and fast, and Youngjae thinks he’s going to get rid of his jeans and finish himself. But Jaebum doesn’t do anything. Through half lidded eyes, Youngjae sees that he’s so hard that the jeans’ zipper and button might burst. A wet spot on his crotch slowly grows bigger, spreading through the fabric of his pants. Even though his body feels like all numb, Youngjae crawls closer to Jaebum.

“Did you just…”

Jaebum nods, swallowing hard. Yes, he just reached his high without even touching himself.

They are lying on the backs, working hard on recovering their breaths.

“Are you feeling better now?” Jaebum asks.

“Only you can make me feel this good.”

Jaebum puts a kiss on his shoulder, “Love you too.”

He gets up and walks to the bathroom. Youngjae is almost falling asleep, exhausted, when Jaebum grabs his hand and pulls him up into a sitting position.

“C’mon, I’ve run us a bath.”

Youngjae is glad that Jaebum is pulling him because he can barely drag his numb body to the bathroom. He’s the first to enter the tub while Jaebum strips off his clothes. Youngjae has some difficulty moving to make room for Jaebum. Eventually Jaebum manages to step into the tub, Youngjae sitting on the V of his legs. He rests back, leaning on Jaebum’s chest, and the two lapse into silence, feeling the hot water relaxing their muscles. He feels Jaebum’s heart thumping on his back; he grabs his hand and places it on his chest, so that Jaebum feels his heartbeats too. They close their eyes and for a moment, time stops. Nothing else matters. Youngjae pulls Jaebum’s hand up to his lips and puts a couple of kisses in its palm. Jaebum reciprocates, kissing the top of Youngjae’s head, nuzzling his hair.

“Why are you so tense?” Jaebum asks. Because he knows; he feels it.

“The teachers' evaluation was today.”

“How did it go?”

“Good, I think. I don’t know…”

“You’re gonna get a good result, you’ll see. You’re a great teacher.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right.” Youngjae playfully pinches his thigh. “You know where we could go tomorrow?”

“That music store that opened last week?”

The corner of Jaebum’s lips lift into a small smile, “You know me so well.”

They almost fall asleep in the bathtub. They wash each other, splash water at each other, Youngjae makes himself a beard of foam and Jaebum styles his own hair into a mohawk. Youngjae reaches for Jaebum’s phone that is on the bathroom’s countertop to snap a few photos of themselves. The phone almost falls in the tub. After stepping out the bath, they dry themselves and slip into comfortable, snuggly clothes. Jaebum tidies the bed while Youngjae orders some food. They snuggle in bed, eating and watching a movie until they fall asleep.

~x~

“Ok, I understand you’re having a lot of fun but,” Youngjae is following Jaebum around the music shop, a pile of CDs in his arms, “you know we’ll have to pay for all of these, right?”

“Yes, I know,” Jaebum says, “wasn’t planning on stealing anything. Were you?”

Youngjae can only roll his eyes, walking after his boyfriend as he continues to stroll through the shop, picking more CDs. He can’t really be angry at him, not when he’s wearing a snapback that has Superman’s logo on the front, a Bart Simpson t-shirt, and looks like a kid at a toy store. The pile of CDs in his arms keeps on growing, though, and it’s looking more and more like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

“Bumie,” that’s the only way he can get his attention right now, “I think we have enough CDs. Bumie?” he calls out again but there’s no reply.

He tries to look over the pile of CDs he’s carrying but he can’t. He bumps against someone and drops everything on the floor. Gladly nothing breaks.

“I’m sorry,” comes from a little boy and his voice sounds familiar to Youngjae.

Youngjae and the boy bend over, orienting the CDs into a single stack again, when he takes a good look at the kid. It’s Daeul, one of his students.

“Daeul?”

“Oh,” the boy's mouth is shaped in a perfect 'o', eyes growing big as he looks at Youngjae, “Professor?”

“Are you here alone, Daeul?”

Daeul shakes his head, “No. I’m with my Dad. We’re here to buy classical music vinyls. Are you buying CDs to lend us, Professor?”

“Actually, I am,” Youngjae smiles and stands up, balancing the big stack of CDs in his arms again. “You didn’t happen to see a grown man with a Simpsons T-shirt and a Superman cap walking around, did you?”

The boy giggles, “I did.” He grabs Youngjae’s wrist, guiding to the row where he had seen Jaebum. “That’s him, right?”

“Where were you, Jae?” Jaebum asks and then notices the boy. “And did you just abduct a child?”

“This is Daeul, one of my students. Daeul, I’m sure you remember Mr. Jaebum.”

“Yeah. He went to the school to play the drums.”

Jaebum frowns, trying to remember the boy’s musical preferences; Youngjae talks about his students often so he knows them all by the music they listen to.

“You’re the one that likes alternative rock, right? Nirvana, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers –”

Daeul proudly nods his head, “Yes. How do you know?”

“I help your Professor picking the CDs he’ll be lending to you guys.”

“Daeul!” a man shouts, his voice roaring. The boy immediately recoils.

The man, Daeul’s father, grips his son’s wrist with a little too much strength, causing the boy to quietly whimper, his brows creasing in pain because his father won’t let go of him. Jaebum doesn’t like what he sees, not even one bit, and it takes him every ounce of self-control he has not to punch the man. Youngjae doesn’t like what he’s witnessing either, but he’s much more used to seeing these scenes of stern behavior than Jaebum. That’s how the majority of the parents he meets educate their children. He once expressed his concerns about the way the parents educate their children and he was told to mind his own business. He decided not to speak his mind ever again. (When he met Jaebum and he told him that he had quit teaching because the school system sucks, Youngjae thinks of that incident and has to agree with him.) 

“I’m so sorry,” Youngjae says. “I should have looked for you right away.”

“Professor Choi,” the man finally recognizes him and bows, only then he lets go of Daeul’s wrist. “Apologize my manners but I was so worried. Daeul just disappeared from my sight –”

“It’s understandable.”

Jaebum is feeling sick, watching his boyfriend acting like a lapdog, smiling and chatting amicably with the man. Daeul is rubbing his wrist, his father’s handprint getting noticeably redder, creating a contrast with his pale skin. Jaebum drapes an arm around the boy’s shoulders and pulls him closer to his side, caringly rubbing his upper arm. Daeul looks up, but Jaebum isn’t looking at him; he’s looking at a few CDs on the shelf near them. He feels a soft squeeze on his side and looks down at the boy. He reads ‘ _thank you for caring_ ’ in his eyes.

“You two are here together?” the man points at Youngjae and Jaebum.

“Yes. This Jaebum,” Youngjae introduces. “He’s my b – b – my friend. He’s my friend.”

 _Shit!_ That’s the only word playing on repeat in Youngjae’s brain.

The two men shake hands; Jaebum seizes the moment to squeeze the other man’s hand the harder he can.

“You’ve – ah –” the man’s expression seems pained, “you’ve got a strong grip.”

“So do you, as it seems,” Jaebum drops the hint.

The other gets it immediately; if it wasn’t by his words, he would have understood it just from Jaebum’s pissed off face, and the way he’s cuddling his son close to his side. Youngjae glares Jaebum, trying to let his boyfriend know that this man is one of the school’s fat cats and that he shouldn’t provoke him. Just from the glance's exchange, Daeul’s father picks up a lot more other than the fact that Jaebum has a bit of a temper.

“Well, Daeul, let’s get going,” he grabs his son’s arm and pulls him to closer to him. “Say goodbye to Professor Choi and his _friend_.”

 _The tone_ , Youngjae thinks, the tone in which he said _friend_. He doesn’t have a good feeling about this.

“Are you out of your mind?” Youngjae grumbles once Daeul and his father are out of sight. “He’s a very influential man. One word from him to the Principal can get me fired.”

“Did you see the way he grabbed the kid’s wrist? Or the way he flinched when he heard his voice?”

“I did, but that’s the way every parents treats their kids at the school.”

Jaebum takes two steps back, taken aback, “And it doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course it does. One day, at a parents-teacher’s meeting, I talked with the parents about the strict way they raise their kids and they told me to mind my own business.”

“And of course you did just that. You can’t just roll over and show your belly every time somebody snarls, Youngjae. You need to do something more, go the extra mile. These people have shit for brains; the only thing they are concerned about is wealth and status.”

“And you think I don’t know that? You think I don’t try my very best every day? As a teacher, I try to be a role model for the kids, try to educate them to be better people, not to become shallow people.”

Jaebum takes a deep breath, now realizing that they are having a heated argument in the middle of the record shop, and that people are avoiding looking at them. He gathers the CDs and walks to the checkout counter; Youngjae follows him, out of necessity, – he doesn’t want to take the subway home – not because he feels like being any near him at the moment. The way back to the apartment is made in silence and they don’t speak to each other for the rest of the day. They don’t go to bed without making up, though; make-up sex is rough and fast, and particularly more rewarding than regular sex. They mumble an apology to one another before falling asleep, thinking that everything is solved. And it is; things are solved between them. But they don’t even have to wait a week for everything to turn to shit.

~x~

Jaebum swings the door open and he's greeted by their pets as soon as he walks in. That's strange; his cats are a bit snobbish to greet someone by the door and Coco only shows him some affection when he feeds her. They only run to the door when they're hungry. The apartment is quiet and Jaebum frowns.

"Jae, I'm home," he says while walking in, looking around, trying to find Youngjae.

He's not in the living room, the kitchen or in Bambam and Yugyeom's old bedroom, now turned into a small office room where they have a desk, a bookshelf and their instruments. Their bedroom door, however, is ajar. Jaebum walks in slowly and immediately senses something is wrong; the bedroom is dark, the curtains drawn, and Youngjae is nothing but a lump curled up under the bed clothes. He approaches the bed and pulls the duvet back to see Youngjae's face. He's awake and poorly attempting to pretend that he's sleeping. Jaebum leans down to press a kiss into his hair.

"What's wrong, sunshine? You're feeling sick?"

Youngjae shakes his head, eyes still closed.

"Then what's wrong?" he whispers, putting little light kisses on his cheek.

"Can you just lie down with me for a little bit?"

"I can lie down with you for as long as you want," Jaebum says, sliding under the bed clothes.

They're lying down, foreheads resting against each other's. Jaebum is soothingly running his hand up and down Youngjae's back, hoping that he'll tell him what's wrong. He starts to cry and Jaebum feels devastated. At first it’s only a few tears and sniffles, but then Youngjae bursts into tears and Jaebum makes shushing sounds while rubbing his back.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Jae. Please.”

“I –” he sobs, “I was called to the Principal’s office today. There were people from the Ministry of Education there too. They basically interrogated me and…” he cries harder. “They know, hyung. They know I’m gay.”

“How?”

“Remember when we went to the record shop last week and we ran into Daeul and his father?”

“Don’t tell me he –”

“Yeah. Apparently he picked up that we’re a couple, had someone following me for the last few days and reported me directly to the Ministry.” Youngjae swallows hard. “They told me that, for the sake of the kids, I’ll continue to be their teacher till the end of the school year.”

“And once the school year ends?”

Youngjae heaves a sigh, “I have to quit. They said they wouldn’t report me to the police but there’ll be no school that will employ me again. They made me feel disgusted of myself. I already took two showers and I still feel grimy,” he sobs, recalling their words. “They said I’m a bad influence on the kids. I’ll have to teach with a TA shadowing me all the time because they even insinuated that I could abuse the kids.”

Jaebum’s blood is boiling in his veins as he hugs Youngjae closer. “That’s just disgusting. Being homosexual doesn’t make you a rapist. I…” He growls, feeling like he’s going to vomit all of his organs, “Fuck all this shit! I swear to God, that fucker is so despicable. They all are. Sorry, sorry,” he strokes his hair, “I should be focusing on you right now, not on those sick fuckers.”

“It’s ok. I understand this upsets you too.”

He puts a kiss on his forehead, “I promise you, everything will –”

“No, don’t say that,” Youngjae starts to cry again. “You can promise me everything that there is in the universe, but you and I both know you can’t promise me this. Things won’t be alright, so don’t lie to me.”

“I’d never lie to you. If I tell you that it’ll all be ok, you trust me with all your strengths.”

Youngjae presses his face against Jaebum’s chest and closes his eyes. “I don’t have any strength left, hyung. I just want to vanish into thin air. I feel like packing all my stuff and leave.”

“Where would you go?” Jaebum asks.

“Bam and Gyeom feel happier in New York than they ever felt here. They don’t have to put on a façade every time they step out the house.”

“We’ll find a solution for this. Promise.”

“ _We_?” Youngjae looks up. “I’m not dragging you into this –”

“Into what?”

“The mess that is my life now. I can’t ask you that.”

“I’m gonna pretend that I didn’t hear you say that. I’m with you even if the whole world turns against us. Don’t let go of me and I won't let go of you either. Unless you want me to go, then I'll –”

"No, no, please don't go." Youngjae clings to Jaebum as tight as he can and cries. “If you leave I have nothing left.”

"I'm not going anywhere," Jaebum reassures in a whisper. "Not without you."

Youngjae cries and cries until his eyes are red and swollen, until his throat is scratchy and hurting, until he feels lightheaded and falls asleep. Jaebum carefully gets out of bed and pulls the covers up to Youngjae’s chin, letting him try to get some rest. He’s restless, however, sobbing in his sleep every now and then. Jaebum decides to tidy around the house, hoping that being on the move will keep him from thinking about all of this. He feeds their pets, empties the dishwasher, reorganizes the CDs’ rack, puts in the closet all the clean clothes that are in the laundry basket and that don’t need to be ironed, and orders some food. He orders Youngjae’s favorite, just in case he awakes up and wants to eat (he’s sure he hasn’t eaten anything, and he’s also sure that he’ll tell him he doesn’t want to eat, but at least he tried). Jaebum also calls Jinyoung, to know if there’s anything that they can do. He tells him that legally there’s no law that can protect Youngjae if he takes the case to court. At the very best, going to court could gather people’s attention, especially the youth who are far more understanding, but that would be it. They both agree that the last thing Youngjae needs is to be dragged out to the public's eye; he's already been humiliated enough.

Jaebum wrecks his brain to exhaustion, trying to figure out a solution. He wants to wake up Youngjae in the morning and tell him something reassuring. He fears that telling that he’ll stand by his side, unconditionally, isn’t enough. He grabs his phone and earphones, ready to listen to some music, but stops for a while just to look at his phone’s [wallpaper photo](http://pm1.narvii.com/6270/1f55543f6ed2a98c19e8c43d832067b222f137ad_hq.jpg) (Youngjae’s is the same one). He smiles, running his finger across the screen, tracing Youngjae’s facial features.

“Everything’s gonna be ok, sunshine. Promise,” he whispers.

He falls asleep on the couch, music loudly blasting in his ears, and wakes up with a pair of warm lips being pressed to his forehead. It’s morning already. Jaebum blinks away the sleepiness, finding his boyfriend’s face hovering over his. His eyes are red and puffed, the size of two golf balls, and he looks thoroughly exhausted. Youngjae has taken the earphones off his ears and put his phone away.

“You’re not going to work?” Youngjae asks in a raspy voice.

Jaebum wraps an arm around Youngjae and pulls him down so that he’s lying on the couch with him. Youngjae is practically lying on top of him because the couch isn’t that wide.

“No. Jinyoung gave me the day off, so I’m spending the whole day with you.”

"Thank you, but I'm going to work."

"Are you serious? You can call in sick –"

Youngjae shakes his head, "The Principal told me to take a few days off if I needed it. But I don't want to. If I stay at home, I'll keep on think about it. Besides, I need to set an example for the kids. I don’t know what kind of wild tales their parents will fill their heads with, but at least, I’ll be there to prove them that their Professor is exactly the same one as before."

"That’s my sunshine talking,” Jaebum grins, proud. However, his expressions turn serious almost instantly, as he continues, “But, if anything happens, _anything at all_ , you call me and I'll pick you from school right away. I'll break a couple of faces if needed be."

“I appreciate the thought but I don't think being violent will solve anything. Besides, the Principal doesn’t want the news being spread around so he'll probably not tell anyone." He presses a chaste kiss to his lips.

Jaebum cradles his face and pulls him down for a deeper kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you too. So much.”

~x~

Youngjae is enjoying a cup of coffee, flipping through the pages of the newspaper when someone takes a seat on the chair across from his.

“What happened?” Jackson asks, frankly worried.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Skip the small talk. What the hell happened to you?”

“I’m fine.”

Jackson rolls his eyes, “You sure look fine, face all puffed like that. Is it something to do with Jaebum? Did you guys fought? Did you break up? W –”

“It’s nothing to do with Jaebum. We’re doing fine.” Jackson looks ready to restart the interrogation. “I’ll tell you during lunchtime, ok? Now’s not the best place for that.”

“So you’re not gonna tell me?” Jackson leans back on his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I just told you I’m telling you during lunchtime. It’s actually important that I tell you. You might be the next one.”

“ _Be the next one_?” the school bell rings and Youngjae gets up and grabs his things. “What’s that supposed to mean? Youngjae!” he’s already walking out of the teacher’s lounge, enjoying leaving Jackson in full panic mode behind. “Choi Youngjae, come here! Aish, that brat gonna hear me later.”

When Youngjae enters the classroom, his TA is already there. He’s a young man, small and thin, a thick head of brown hair, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He looks so fresh out of college that Youngjae wants to chuckle. He wonders for a moment if that’s how he looked like when he was a TA.

“You must be Professor Choi,” he stretches out his hand to introduce himself. “I’m Song Minsoo. I’ll be your TA.”

Youngjae shakes his hand, courteously, because what else can he do really, “Nice to meet you.”

“Can I ask you a question before the kids come in?”

“Sure.”

At this point, Youngjae is ready for _anything_. He clearly wasn’t ready for what _he himself_ was going to do.

“I shouldn’t be asking this, I know, but – the Principal said you’re quitting for personal reasons,” _that’s one way of putting it_ , Youngjae thinks, “and said I might get your position. Do you – do you think I might get the job? It’s just – I just graduated and –”

“Well,” Youngjae turns to the board, to write down the class’ summary, “are you gay?”

“Me, no, no, no. Wh –”

“Then you should get the job, no problems.”

“Wait, that’s why you’re quitting? ‘cause you’re a faggot?” Youngjae can hear him trying not to laugh.

Youngjae smiles wryly and punches the board with so much strength that one of the top screws jumps off and part of the board drops to the floor, “Next time,” he turns around and looks him in the eye, “I’ll do that to your face. And let’s set this straight, so that we don’t have problems in the future,” he closes the short distance between them, so that when’s talking, Minsoo can feel his breath tickling his lips, “I’m still the one who gives the orders in this classroom, so you will obey each and every of my orders. You have opinions, keep them to yourself. Also, I put all my focus on the students because they’re all that matter, so dare you to try to disrupt the work we do here in any way or you’ll have to deal with me. Are we clear?”

“Yes, understood, P –”

“Sunbaenim. You call me sunbaenim,” he starts smiling as he looks at the door, his students walking in, “Good morning. Walk in and have a seat.”

“Professor, what happened to the board?” one kid asks.

“Oh, I guess it had a loose screw and it just fell. But it’s nothing that Professor Minsoo can’t fix, right?” he turns back, looking at him.

“Right, I’ll fix it, sunbaenim.”

Youngjae is smiling far too brightly for someone who’s internally crying – he had never threatened anyone before in his life (not in a way that counted as an actual threat) and he had never punched anything (or anyone for that matter) either.

“Before we start the class, I’d like to introduce you to Professor Song Minsoo. He’ll be my assistant till the end of the year, so treat him nicely.”

He lets Minsoo introduce himself and doesn’t tell anything else to the kids; he’ll have a hard time saying goodbye to them, so he decides it’s best to save all his tears for the last class.

~x~

Youngjae is sitting at the kitchen’s table, hand in a bowl of cold water, looking at the ice cubes floating around. Jaebum is sitting across from him.

“I knew it,” Jaebum grins, “I knew that under all that sunshine glow was a bad boy.”

“Why did I use my writing hand?” Youngjae whines. “How am I gonna write tomorrow?”

“God, that must have been so hot. Wish I could have seen you all worked up,” Jaebum is fanboying and he knows it, Youngjae knows it, hell, the whole world knows it. “Not gonna lie, the image I’m getting in my head is turning me on.”

“Good for you, but my hand is hurting.” He pulls his hand out of the water, “Are you sure it isn’t broken?”

“I said it doesn’t _look_ broken, but I’m not a doctor. Wanna go to the ER and get that checked out?”

“Yeah.”

( _“Looks like you have a broken hand,” the doctor says, looking at the X-ray of Youngjae’s hand._

_Youngjae turns to his boyfriend, “You said it didn’t look broken.”_

_“I also told you that I’m not a doctor,” Jaebum tells him._ )


	7. Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatever's written in bold means that it's said in English.

Youngjae and Jaebum are on the way to the latter’s parents. It’s a short car trip – about half an hour – so Youngjae allows Jaebum to drive. (Ever since Jaebum was diagnosed with a herniated disk, Youngjae forbid him from driving.) Youngjae sits on the passenger’s seat, reading a book. The windows are fogged because the AC is on. The winter days are on their way out but this year seems particularly colder. The sky is clear, so it’s possible to see the afternoon sun, a faint yellow circle that shyly spreads its weak rays down to earth. The weather is chilly outside but luckily there’s no wind, and the trees are naked (not that they see many trees in the urban jungle that is Seoul). 

“ **My name is Youngjae. Nice to meet you** ,” Youngjae reads in English, trying to correctly pronounce each word.

“You’re really hell bent on learning English,” Jaebum comments.

“Well, English was my favorite subject in school, and since I’ll never be able to be a teacher again, I might as well pick up new skills.”

“Are you planning on moving to an English speaking country?”

“I don’t think so,” Youngjae smiles softly. “But you can never learn too much, right? Speaking of which, maybe you could learn some English too. You never know when you’ll need it.”

Jaebum chuckles, “I know enough English.”

(Obvious bullshit! Jaebum is allergic to English. The only English he knows are musical terms and song verses that he very badly pronounces.)

“Really? Prove it.”

“Ok,” he clears his throat and speaks with a heavy accent, “ **My name is Jaebum Im. I’m twenty-three-years-old. I’m from Korea**.” He looks at Youngjae, showing him a finger heart, “ **I love you**. That’s all the English I need to know.”

Youngjae smiles. He closes the book and gently hits Jaebum’s head with it, “Dummy. What if I’d ask you how much you paid for your jacket, what would you say?”

“I paid –”

“Ah, nah-uh,” he wags his fingers. “ **In English**.” He quickly flips through a few pages of the book and reads, “ **How much is this?** ”

“ **Uh – this – this is** ,” Jaebum puffs and slips back into Korean, “how do you say cheap in English?”

“ **Cheap** ,” Youngjae wisely supplies.

“No, that’s ship.”

Youngjae chuckles, “Ever heard of homophones? **Ship** , **sheep** and **cheap** sound alike but mean different things." He shifts in his seat and writes with his finger the three words on the fogged window and then points at each of them, providing their translation in Korean, “Sheep, ship and cheap.”

Jaebum manages to glance at the window while driving, “How ‘bout **shit**?”

“That ends in a **t** , hyung. Not a homophone,” Youngjae points out.

“I know. But that’s how I feel about English. Why the hell is it so hard?”

“We can’t complain. Korean is all homophone sounds. I mean, we even have two numerical systems. And we write in characters.”

For the rest of the ride, Youngjae tries to teach Jaebum more things in English.

Jaebum is stepping out of the car when he feels a shooting pain in his lower back, his right leg numbed. "Dammit," he mumbles under his breath, "we were doing great so far."

"Need help?" Youngjae asks.

"No, I'm fine."

Youngjae watches Jaebum pull himself out of the car, his knuckles turning white as he tightly holds the edge of the door. He starts limping but luckily Youngjae is already by his side, looping his arm around his waist.

"You're so stubborn. If you're in pain, why don't you just say it?"

"You know I hate being dependent," Jaebum says, draping his arm over his boyfriend's shoulders for extra support.

"You have a herniated disk, hyung. That must hurt."

"Oh, it does."

"Like I said, stubborn," Youngjae rolls his eyes, helping Jaebum walk to the door of his parents' house, "C'mon, your mom will give some pain killers and a hot pack."

His mother, Miyoung, opens the door for them, and immediately sighs, seeing her son clinging to his boyfriend, "Oh, dear, when are you getting that treated?"

"I already am. For the past month I've been taking painkillers and using hot and ice packs, just like the doctor ordered,” Jaebum tells her as they walk in.

Youngjae adds as he crouches down in front of Jaebum to take his shoes off, "The doctor has already scheduled his surgery because this isn't working."

Jaebum places his hands on Youngjae's shoulders, slowly lifting one foot at a time; he can barely stand on two legs, so having to shift his weight from leg to leg to toe off his shoes is nearly impossible. He can't sit down without feeling pain, and if even if he could, then he wouldn't be able to push himself off the floor. Thank God for Youngjae. He helps him get to the couch. Miyoung has already gotten a glass of water, painkillers and a hot pack.

"When is the surgery?" she asks.

"In two weeks," Jaebum answers before pushing the pills down his throat with a big gulp of water.

Miyoung forces Jaebum to sit down when he tried to get up. Jaebum heaves a displeased sigh and lies down, head resting on Youngjae’s lap, who runs his fingers through his hair. Miyoung sits near his feet, rubbing the hot pack on his lower back. Jaebum says he hates being pampered but he isn’t complaining now.

“How are you two doing?”

Youngjae smiles, “We’re doing great. Well, Jaebumie hyung isn’t in his best shape but that’s going to get better in just two weeks.”

“And how’s the job hunting?” Miyoung continues. “Anything you find interesting to do after you terminate your contract with the school?”

“So far nothing. But I still have a few months ‘til the summer vacation to find something.”

“As I told you before, if there’s anything Joonho and I can help, let us know. We can even employ you at the restaurant until you get something definitive.”

“I couldn’t be more thankful for that, but I’m hoping that I won’t need your help.”

Miyoung nods her head, “I hope so as well.”

The two of them continue to chat until Jaebum’s snores get louder. 

“He’s exhausted,” Youngjae explains, caressing Jaebum’s hair. “He and Jinyoung had a tough case to deal with these past days, and combining that with the pain he feels... This week was rough on him.”

“There’s nothing you’re hiding from me, right?” Miyoung asks, concerned. “This pain he’s feeling –”

“It’s just a herniated disk. The doctor says they’re just going to remove the part of the disk that is pressuring his nerve root and he’ll be fine. He’ll only have to spend a day or two at the hospital and the doctor assured him that the pain will be gone right after the surgery. There’s nothing to worry about. Jaebumie will be just fine.”

The woman sighs, “Glad to know that. Well,” she gets up, “I’m going to start dinner.”

“I’ll lend you a hand –”

“No, no, you can stay here.”

“Please, let me help. I know that I can’t cook that much, but I’m learning. Jaebum says I’m good at preparing the ingredients. He even lets me cook dinner at home on the weekends,” he grins proudly.

“Come on, then. I want to see what my son taught you.”

Miyoung walks to the kitchen and tries not to be obvious but she is watching Youngjae caringly taking care of her son. He gets up slowly, lies his head on a pillow, covers him with the blanket that was draped on the couch’s armrest and leans down to put a kiss on his cheek. She smiles; they are always so sweet with each other that it breaks her heart knowing that they are discriminated everywhere else just because they’re gay.

“I thought Joonho-ssi would be home by now,” Youngjae comments as he walks in the kitchen.

“And he should be. But he loves to oversee everyone’s work at the restaurant. I’m sure you understand what I mean; Jaebum can get pretty bossy too. Got that from his Dad.”

Youngjae chuckles, “But once you learn how to deal with the bossiness, there’s no problem.”

Miyoung has already fetched all the ingredients needed for the dinner and hands the ones that need to be washed and cut to Youngjae. “We’re making soft spicy tofu stew.”

“Jaebum’s favorite.”

“Yes, ever since he was a little boy,” Miyoung smiles. “I have enough kimchi already made but I’m not sure about the rice. Can you check it for me, please?”

“Sure,” he opens the rice cooker and peeks inside. “Uh, there’s none.”

“It’s alright. The rice can cook while we make the stew.” She reaches for the rice and the water to start cooking, and asks, “You told me about Jinyoung. How are things going with him and Mark? How are the wedding preparations?”

“Everything’s going alright, I think. Mark’s parents are taking care of things in LA for them since they can’t be there.”

“I’m so happy for the two of them. And you two?” Miyoung moves to Youngjae’s side, preparing the ingredients for the stew with him, “Have you mentally prepared my son that he has to wear a suit?”

Youngjae laughs, “Jaebum has come to terms with the fact that he has to wear a suit. After he started working with Jinyoung at the law firm, he’s been dressing less grunge-y and more…” he waves his hands, lacking the words.

“More presentable,” the woman chuckles. “The only formal clothes I’ve seen him wear were the school’s uniform and the hanbok.”

“Well, the suit wasn’t the only thing he’s being picky about. He’s afraid that after the surgery one of his legs will be bigger than the other, which is nonsense. And he keeps on saying that he won’t be recovered ‘til the wedding.”

“I know,” Miyoung smirks, “my son could be the leading actor of a drama, I know.”

Joonho enters the kitchen, his wife and his, well, almost-son-in-law, are laughing. “What’s the reason for all this laughter?”

“You’re overdramatic son, what else would it be?”

Youngjae bows to the man, greeting him, “Hello, Joonho-ssi.”

“Hello, Youngjae. As always, it’s a pleasure to have you two for dinner."

"What took you so long at the restaurant?" Miyoung asks.

"I was helping with the inventory. Um, Youngjae?” Joonho leans against the countertop. “Do you remember when I told you about Jaebum’s scrapbook last time you were here?”

“Yes, I do.”

The man grins, “I’ve found it.”

Miyoung adds, “Spent a whole day searching for it.”

“Want to see it?”

“Yeah, I mean,” Youngjae looks at Miyoung, “I’m help –”

“Go, go,” the woman dismisses the two of them, waving the wooden spoon. “I’ll finish dinner.”

Youngjae follows Joonho to Jaebum’s old bedroom. His parents had kept it the exact same way Jaebum left it when he left home. The walls are painted in a dark yellow tone, the sentence ‘ _The thing we need is never all that hard to find_ ’ written in black block letters above his bed that now only consists of the bed structure and the mattress. The chest of drawers is pushed against the wall, and the guitar hanger is still screwed to the wall near the door. Youngjae sits on the bed while Joonho opens the first drawer of the chest of drawers, pulling out what it seems to be a black-covered binder. He takes a seat by Youngjae’s side and places the scrapbook on his lap.  

“For his twelfth birthday, his mother and I got him a guitar,” Joonho begins explaining, “and his grandparents gave him a Polaroid camera. He used the whole pack of instant film in a week and the photos weren’t that great. Then he got the hang of it and started compiling them here,” he taps the scrapbook.

Youngjae opens the scrapbook (all of its pages are filled with photos) and the first photo immediately catches his attention; it’s of a [butterfly](http://weknowyourdreams.com/images/butterfly/butterfly-01.jpg%20) on a plant’s leaf. The photo below captures [Jeju](https://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-blog/tip-article/wordpress_uploads/2015/04/essential-jeju-do_cs.jpg.jpg%20)’s scenery. The third one he sees is of a [sleeping dog](http://www.dognotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SleepingDog.jpg).

“It’s Daebak,” Youngjae says, pointing at the dog’s photo. “Jaebum told me that he ran away.”

Joonho shakes his head, “That’s what we told him. One day when I came home from work, I left the gate open, he went outside and got hit by a car. Neither I nor Miyoung had the heart to tell him what really happened so we told Jaebum that Daebak had ran off and had probably been taken by someone who saw him. He made dozens of flyers, left them all around the neighborhood but obviously no one had seen the dog. I’m amazed that he stills believes in what we told him.”

“I promise I won’t tell him about it.”

He’s turning a page of the scrapbook when a piece of paper falls on the floor. Youngjae bends over to pick it up and notices it’s a concert ticket; Muse at the Jamsil Gymnasium. It dates of 2007, so Jaebum was thirteen when he attended the concert. Joonho fills him on the details.

“The son of one of our neighbors was going to the concert and said he wouldn’t mind taking Jaebum with him. He spent a whole month convincing us to let him go. Eventually we said yes. He came home with the biggest smile on his face even though his chest bruised from being pressed against the crowd control barriers. He loved the concert and thanked us for two whole days for having let him go. It was around that time that he started taking music more seriously. Up until then, he liked playing guitar, but I guess seeing someone else playing in a stage for a big crowd was the deal breaker for him.”

Youngjae smiles, trying to imagine thirteen-year-old-Jaebum with sparkling eyes, absolutely ecstatic for having been to a rock concert. He puts the ticket back in the middle of scrapbook and sees the photos of the [Jogyesa’s Temple](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/ee/0d/28/jogyesa-von-innen.jpg), one of two men [playing Go](http://d3i3l3kraiqpym.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/27213122/go-google-game1.jpg) and a photo of a [street performer](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DO_40BllUZM/maxresdefault.jpg). When Youngjae sees the photo of [blossoming cheery trees](http://images.says.com/uploads/story_source/source_image/437155/f6b2.jpg), he has to remind himself that Jaebum was only twelve when he snapped these photos. He only flips one more page, admiring the photos of [Seoul’s street](http://cdn.pcwallart.com/images/seoul-streets-wallpaper-1.jpg), one of a [skater](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c9/e0/ff/c9e0ff4464ec5bffb2c5e87369762bd3.jpg%20), and the last one is of his [guitar](http://thewallpaper.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Acoustic-Guitar-Wallpaper-Download-Free-hd-wallpapers-desktop-images-download-free-amazing-picture-artwork-lovely-2560x1600-736x459.jpg%20), lying on top of the bed where he’s sitting right now.

“These are amazing.”

Joonho nods. “When he turned fifteen he started taking drum classes too and sort of pushed away his love for photography.”

“I find it amazing that both you and Miyoung-ssi always encouraged Jaebum to do the things he loves the most. Guitar, drums, photography... Other parents would find those irrelevant and force their kids to focus on their studies but you let him express himself. My students’ parents only want them to have excellent grades, raise them so strictly. If it makes me feel suffocated, I can’t even imagine how the kids must feel. I’m so glad that my parents didn’t stop me from doing anything either, and that’s exactly how I want to raise my kids too. Let them express themselves, raise them the best way I can, make them happy.”

“We raised our son to be happy, that was our only priority. If that’s how you hope to raise your children too, then I’m sure you’ll be an amazing father. I hope that, when the day comes and you decide to have a child, adoption is already legal for everyone in this country.”

The penny drops and all the feelings come to hit Youngjae at once like a speeding train.

( _It goes back a few days when Jaebum and Youngjae are having dinner._

_The oldest disclosures, “Mark and Jinyoung are planning on moving to LA after the wedding.”_

_“I understand why they’re getting married in LA, but why move?” Youngjae says. “They could stay here.”_

_“It’d make no sense and you and I both know it, Jae. There’d be married in a country where there’s no next step to take in relationships like ours. Hell, forget about taking steps in relationships. We can’t even be in a relationship here! We don’t have power of choice. We can’t decide if we want to get married, or have children.”_ )

Joonho realizes he hit home with his words. He’s on the verge of tears, clearly trying to control himself not to cry in front of Joonho. The man decides to excuse himself and give Youngjae some privacy.

“I’m going to check if Miyoung needs help in the kitchen. You can stay here,” Joonho says and leaves the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He goes to the living room and awakes his son, “Jaebum, awake up. Youngjae is not feeling ok.”

Jaebum tries to get up right away but pain forces him to fall back on the couch.

“Calm down,” Joonho tells him, helping Jaebum getting up. “I said he’s not ok, not that he’s dying. He’s in your bedroom.”

Youngjae is lying on his back on the mattress, crying, when Jaebum walks in. He sits up and hurriedly wipes his tears away, offering a very weak smile.

“What’s wrong? My Dad said you’re not feeling ok.”

“I’m fine,” he says, still choked up with tears.

“Clearly,” Jaebum takes a seat next to him, wraps an arm around him and puts a kiss on his temple. “Tell me what’s wrong, Jae.”

Youngjae looks down at his lap, “It was something your father said. I finally understand what you said the other day, when we were talking about Mark and Jinyoung moving to LA… When I came out to my parents, I thought they wouldn’t accept me, but they did. When you first brought here and told me that I was the first boyfriend that you were bringing home to your parents, I thought it was because they didn’t know you’re gay. Our family and friends support us, but there’s that extra that is missing. We can’t be ourselves here and everyone we know is going away… You’re right. There’s no next step that we can take in our relationship here.”

“So what are you implying? That we br –”

“No, no,” Youngjae puts a reassuring kiss on Jaebum’s cheek, “of course not. I just… I feel that we’ll never find the finish line, that we’ll keep on running and go nowhere.”

Jaebum points at the sentence written over his bed, “Do you know what that means?” Youngjae shrugs; he’s not in the mood to try and decipher English right now. “It means that,” he rests his head against the side of Youngjae’s, softly whispering into his ear, “whatever it is that we want for ourselves, we’ll chase it together. Wherever that thing is, we’ll chase it together. You and me. The thing we need is never all that hard to find, that’s what it says there. It wasn’t that hard for me to find you, why would everything else be?”

Youngjae turns in Jaebum’s embrace to hug him. He lies his head on the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry about this but sometimes it’s frustrating –”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders. And I know that this is frustrating and you have every right in the world to feel upset but these people, these circumstances, are not worth your tears. It breaks my heart to see you cry, and knowing that you’re crying over things that don’t have a fix hurts me even more. So, next time you feel like crying, tell me and we’ll go to the gym and you’ll punch and kick a punching bag.”

“Last time I punched something, things didn’t work out so well,” Youngjae pulls back, lifting his right hand that is still wrapped in bandages.

“Maybe because chalk boards weren’t meant to be punched. But if the punching bag doesn’t seem like the right solution, we can always go to a rooftop and shout at the top of our lungs, tell everyone to fuck off.”

“You can barely walk to the bathroom and you wanna go to a rooftop.”

“That’s something that you can shout about too. _My boyfriend is an old fart_ ,” Youngjae quietly chuckles and Jaebum feels like he achieved his goal. He caresses his face and smiles at him, “A smile suits you much better. Don’t cry over shit that isn’t worth, ok?”

“I love you.”

Jaebum pecks his lips, “I love you too.” He notices the scrapbook on the bed behind Youngjae. “Is that my scrapbook?”

“Yeah. Your Dad found it,” Youngjae turns to bring it back to his lap. “He has been telling me a couple of stories about the photos.”

When Joonho lightly knocks on the door, about half an hour later, to call them for dinner, he finds the two of them lying in bed, flipping through the pages of the scrapbook. Jaebum was telling Youngjae all the details about each photo he took, and he was eagerly listening to him. The four of them are dining when Youngjae’s phone buzzes. He knows it’s rude to be on his phone while having a meal but he has to answer this text. It’s Bambam. When he or Jackson text him, he _has_ to text a reply or else they’ll keep on bombarding him with texts. After quickly typing a response, he shoves the phone back in his pocket.

“Bambam or Jackson?” Jaebum asks.

“Bambam,” Youngjae says. “Sent me a YouTube link of Yugyeom dancing.”

Jaebum stretches out his hand, asking for his boyfriend’s phone, “Let me see it.”

He tries to eat and [watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvHme7H9MvE) at the same time but at some point, Jaebum is simply staring at the screen. Youngjae is leaning on him, watching as well. After the video is over, Jaebum clicks the 'replay' button and shows the video to his parents. They have the same reaction as his son; they’re staring. Yugyeom is that good, apparently.

They don’t stay at Jaebum’s parents for much long. They help tidying up after dinner, sit in the living room for a while, chatting with the couple, but they leave early. Jaebum is exhausted and in pain. He’s sleeping when they arrive at the apartment and Youngjae tries his very best to drag him upstairs without disturbing him much but Jaebum is a dead weight and he has to wake him up. Once he’s dropped in bed, he’s sleeping in a matter of minutes again. Youngjae, however, isn't feeling sleepy. He prepares a few things for his classes and then sits at the piano, decided to add a few more things to Mark and Jinyoung’s wedding song.

He and Jaebum had already written and composed the song. It’s called [For Life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V21ODkaqZUo) and it’s a piano and voice ballad, perfect for their first dance as a married couple. However, Youngjae feels that maybe he could add a few strings details to the piece. He plugs in the earphones to his phone that plays the song and then plugs in the headphones to the piano, so that he can play without disturbing anyone. He’s as good as deaf; a robber could walk in the apartment and he wouldn’t notice. He’s so enthralled by what he’s playing that he starts to sing along. He doesn’t notice Jaebum coming to lean on the doorframe, watching him. He only sees him when he pauses the song to scribble down the notes of the strings arrangement he has been trying to fit in the song.

“Working on Mark and Jinyoung’s wedding song?” Jaebum asks, walking in to take a seat on the piano bench next to Youngjae. “I thought we both had agreed that the song sounded good like that.”

“It felt a little naked to me.” He shows him the piece of paper where he was writing; he had drawn the staff and written down the melody he had been playing. “I added some strings to the song. Nothing over the top. Just enough to feel even more like a ballad. But we can rule it out if you don’t wa –”

Jaebum smiles, “Let me hear it.”

Youngjae puts the song softly playing on his phone while he plays the piano over it. Jaebum looks at his hands as he plays. They move so graciously, softly tickling the keys, and he’s absorbed in watching him play. Youngjae stares at him in the exact same way whenever he plays the drums or the guitar and now he understands why. He understands that one of the reasons why they gravitated into each other’s orbits is because they feel music in the exact same way. He loves how they can communicate with each other just by writing lyrics, composing songs or playing together.

“What y’ think?”

“Uh?” Jaebum grunts.

“Were you even listening?”

“Yeah. I think it sounds amazing. I mean, it made me zone out, so…”

“So we’re keeping the strings part?”

Jaebum nods, “Yeah. We’ll show it the band’s keyboardist so that he can play it. Now, can you come to bed? I can’t sleep without my teddy bear.”

“You kick back the bed sheets again and I’ll have you sleeping on the couch,” Youngjae fake threatens as he turns off the piano.

“But, Jae, I can only fall asleep cuddling you but you're like a furnace,” he cutely whines.

“You feed off of my heat and then I'm left freezing.”

He acts cute again, “I'll cuddle you extra tighter then.”

“You’re so cute,” Youngjae is melting like an ice cream on a hot summer day. “Why do you look like you’re having a tooth pulled out every time someone asks you to do aegyo? You’re so cute, hyung.”

Jaebum smiles and cradles his face, [saying](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAc9nrSurMQ%20), “Hello, this is your lover Im Jaebum here to give you a heart attack.” He actually makes a ‘ _muah_ ’ sound as he sends Youngjae a flying kiss.

Youngjae quickly reaches for his phone and opens the camera, “Do that again. I have to –”

He swears he has never seen Jaebum running away so fast.

“And he has a herniated disk,” Youngjae comments to himself as he makes the way to the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we are going to LA!


	8. My Home

Jaebum and Youngjae are currently walking to the baggage claim of the LAX airport, the youngest getting more and more anxious as he searches for something in his pockets. The queue to get through Immigration was excruciatingly long (Youngjae was leaning on Jaebum the entire time, feeling sleepy) so only now he senses that he's missing something.

"Hyung, do you have my phone?"

Jaebum is 120% sure he doesn't, but he checks all of his pockets nonetheless. "Weren't you listening to music on your phone?"

"Yeah, but I - oh no," he stops dead in his tracks, panicking, "I left it on the plane!"

"Stop panicking and go to the Lost and Found. Here," he hands him the boarding passes, "I'll get our bags and I'll wait for you by the Customs."

Youngjae nods and they part ways. Jaebum is standing by the conveyor belt, watching the bags going around and around, but he's so jetlagged that their baggage passes by him twice and he doesn't notice them. Eventually he snaps out of his trance and grabs them. Youngjae is back after a while, a smile on his face as he waves his phone. They get through Customs without any problem and decide to get something to eat. They don't have dollars so they have to wait in line (again, quite a long line) to exchange money. They hail and cab, savoring donuts, bagels and coffee and make it to the hotel.

(Along with Jinyoung's family, they are the first guests to arrive; the wedding is on Sunday and today's only Friday. Jaebum and Youngjae decided to arrive a little earlier to avoid looking so jetlagged, and to have some time to visit the city.)

The receptionist handles their check-in and then kindly guides them to the room where Jinyoung is overseeing the preparations for the ceremony and the reception.

“Hey,” Jinyoung greets as soon as he sees his friends, “did you guys have a good flight?”

Jaebum shrugs, “Yeah. I mean, the stopover in Beijing fucked us up, though. We were sleeping and then had to disembark to change planes.”

“That sucks. But you’ve made it alright,” he smiles. He’s radiant, and he of course has all the motives in the world to be that happy.

“How are the things over here going?” Jaebum asks, stuffing his hands in his pockets, looking around the venue.

“Great. The hotel’s staff is been really helpful, everything is going has planned.”

Youngjae turns to Jinyoung once he’s scurried through the faces of everyone in the room, “Am I too jetlagged or Mark isn't here?”

“He isn't. He went to get our suits.” Jinyoung takes a good look at their faces, “Why don’t you guys go get some rest?”

“If you need anything from us, you can come and knock on our door,” Jaebum tells his friends, patting his shoulder.

“I just need you for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow. I know you guys are planning on visiting the city tomorrow afternoon and all that, so bye-bye,” he mockingly waves his hand at them, “you’re on your own ‘til then. The less people I have around me, bothering me, the better.”

“I’d tell you to die but I don’t want Mark to be widowed before he’s even married,” Jaebum mocks.

Jinyoung smirks, “Get out of here.”

Youngjae and Jaebum gladly excuse themselves and go to their room. They fall in bed and wake up in the mid-morning of the next day. (Like good tourists, they see the Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame, and then take a walk on Venice Beach before returning to the hotel to rehearsal with the band).

~x~

Jinyoung is looking at the hotel’s lobby, watching five men who are about his age, walking in. He turns to Mark, “Please tell that those aren’t –”

“I told my father _not_ to invite them,” he heaves a long sigh.

The five young men are Mark’s old friends from high school, Tyler, Chad, Adam, Jake and Josh. They’re all wearing baggy basketball shorts, sleeveless shirts, and flip-flops. They are all tanned, three of them have blonde-dyed hair, two other have their brown hair tied up in a ridiculous man bun. They smell like salty water, so their attire is explained; they’re just back from the beach.

Jinyoung reasons, “They don’t look like they’re dressed for a rehearsal dinner, though.”

“Keep an eye on things here. I’ll take ‘em to the bar and deal with this.”

Mark walks to the lobby and meets with his friends.

“Mark!” the five cheer in unison.

He greets them, part of him feeling happy for reencountering them again. “Pay you a drink at the bar?”

“Ooh,” Tyler howls, “now we’re talkin’!”

Josh nudges Mark on the side, “So, where’s the future Mrs. Tuan?”

He pretends he didn’t hear him, directing his attention to Adam who was talking to him. Mark orders mojitos for all of them and they take a seat on the couches that are on the bar area.

“Ya know, we just came here ‘cause we knew you were gettin’ married,” Jake explains. “We talked with your Dad ‘cause we didn’t get invited but he said it’s just for the family.”

“Yeah,” Mark says, sipping on his drink, “we decided to keep it tight. You know, it’s expensive.”

Chad laughs, “That’s why I ain’t gettin’ married.”

The other laugh along, Mark clearly faking it.

“He’s on his third knocked up chick,” Jake tells Mark, “one of ‘em had twins!”

“And he even managed not having to pay for child support,” Adam adds. “I only got one kid but she just sucks the money out of me.”

“If you only had her suckin’ your dick this wouldn’t be a problem!” Josh teases.

They all laugh again, this time Mark doesn’t even try to pretend.

This is exactly why he didn’t want his friends at his wedding. He has no idea how come they’ve become such douchebags; they seemed alright in high school. Nah, that’s just a lie Mark insists on telling himself. He wonders if he’d have turned out just like them if he had never met Jinyoung and then moved to Korea. At the time, Mark was confused about his sexuality. He had a girlfriend; she was a sweet girl and everything, but he didn’t feel attracted to her. He knew he could tell everything to his parents but he was sure that they couldn’t help him figuring out if he was homosexual or not. He thought he could count on his friends to help him and support him throughout his self-discovery journey, but they laughed (and made) homosexual jokes and considered ‘gay’ an insult. He never told them, fearing whatever comments they’d make about him. When Jinyoung, exchange student from South Korea, showed up in his life everything changed, and everything made sense. Without much hesitation he moved to Korea, initially only with the intent of it being a temporary thing, but he realized that Jinyoung liked him back and ended up staying. He’s thrilled to be only one day from starting a new chapter in his life alongside Jinyoung, and now, looking at his friends, he feels a mix of pity and disgust. They’re so reckless and petty.

“Hey,” one of his friends – he’s not sure which one – smacks his arm, “you’re spacing out?”

“Give him a break,” Tyler says, “he’s selling his soul to the devil in a couple of hours. She must have tricked him –”

“ _He_ ,” Mark mumbles because he can’t take it anymore. “His name is Jinyoung and he didn’t trick me into anything. I was the one who proposed.”

His friends are staring at him as if he has just announced the return of Jesus Christ himself.

“Now wait a minute there,” Adam is the first one to speak. “How come it’s a _he_? You can’t be gay. You dated –”

“Yes, I dated Amy but that doesn’t mean anything. I was feeling confused at the time and I broke up with her once I was sure I was gay. She was actually very understanding.”

“This’s so fucked up, dude. You’re gay. How do –" Jake downs his drink in a single gulp, "no, forget about it.”

“The guy’s name,” Chad muses aloud, “I’ve heard it somewhere.”

“He was the exchange student when we were in high school, yes,” Mark clarifies.

“Wait, that’s even more fucked up,” Jake insists. “He stayed at your house for the whole year.”

Josh looks like he’s about to throw up, “Oh, man holy shit. You guys totally did it back then, didn’t you? Oh c’mon, –”

“You know, I lied,” Mark says.

One by one they start to laugh out loud; Tyler speaks, “Ah, we knew it. You’re just fuckin’ with us. There’s no way you’re gay.”

“No. I lied about the wedding invitations. It’s not just for the family. You were not invited because of _this._ ” He stands up and points at the door, “I think it’s time for you guys to go now.”

The five of them are incredulous, staring at Mark, but one by one they start to leave after Chad comments, mockingly, “C’mon guys, let’s go. Mark’s PMSing.”

As soon as his ‘friends’ start walking towards the hotel’s lobby, Mark chases after them, not because he wants to catch up with them, but because he sees Jinyoung walking to them. He literally runs towards Jinyoung and pushes him into the first open space he sees, which turns out to be the elevator.

“Hiding your sweetheart from us?” Josh snickers.

Mark heaves a long sigh, “Just go, please. I don’t want any problems.”

“’course you don’t. Princess could get hurt before her wedding,” Chad provokes.

He decides to be his usual self, which is being quiet, and watches them leave the hotel. The elevator dings and the doors open; Jinyoung is looking at him, pissed off.

“What the hell was that, Mark?”

“Can we just forget that all of this happened and focus on what’s important?”

Jinyoung closes the distance between them, his expression softening, “They were that bad?”

Mark nods his head, disappointed. He and Jinyoung had saved up extra seats just in case Mark decided to have his friends at the wedding. He knew that they’d know about the wedding and would reach out to him somehow, so he kept his hopes high that they wouldn’t be douchebags. Deep down he knew that they were going to be just that.

“Better this way,” Jinyoung caresses his arm, “we don’t need people like them at our wedding.”

“What upset me the most was Adam. We were the closest and he just didn’t react at all.”

Jinyoung loops an arm around his waist and the two walk outside, “Forget about them, ok? If they were really you’re friends, they would have supported you. I know this isn’t what you want to hear –”

“But you’re right.”

~x~

“This place looks beautiful,” Jinyoung’s mother comments, looking around.

The venue is decorated in red from the tablecloths to the thin drapes and the paper lanterns hung a bit everywhere around the room. The chairs and the tables are black and at the center of all of them there's a vase of the same color with cherry flowers. The round tables accommodate four people and they are dispersed around in sort of a U-shape, leaving the middle of the room clear, allowing people to move freely without having to squeeze themselves through tables, chairs and people to walk around.  The bar and the setup platform where the band plays are on opposite sides of the venue.   

“This was all Mark’s mom’s idea, and the awesome hotel staff who put all of this together,” Jinyoung explains.

Mark shows up, wearing a big, and obviously forced, smile, and whispers in Jinyoung’s ear, “I think the open bar for the rehearsal dinner was a mistake.”

“Is it my dad?” Jinyoung cranes his neck, trying to see among all the guests, but he can’t.

“No. It’s _my_ dad and JB. Oh, and your grandmother has been clinging to Youngjae for some good twenty minutes now.”

“Oh, ok, can you tell everyone to start taking a seat while I try to…” he waves his hands in lack of words.

His mother notices that something’s not going according to the plan, “Is everything alright, dear?”

“Yeah. I just need stop some people from drinking and I need to get Granny.”

“ _Granny_ ,” Mark quietly chuckles.

Jinyoung smacks him on the chest, “You call yours Nana, shut up.” He quickly rushes over to Youngjae and his grandmother, “Hey, Granny, let’s have a seat? We’re gonna have dinner now and then Mark and I will open the gifts.”

“Alright. I’ll sit next to this nice young man.”

“No, Granny. Everyone has their own seat and yours is in Mom, Dad and Aunt Soojin’s table. Youngjae is sitting with his boyfriend and two of my friends.”

“Alright,” she grabs Youngjae’s hand and gently pats its back, “It was lovely chatting with you.”

Once his grandmother is on the way to her table, Jinyoung says, “Get your boyfriend, will you? He’s getting drunk and I need my best man to be sober.”

“You need to take a sedative before you pop a vein.” Youngjae starts walking to the bar, feeling Jinyoung’s eyes boring holes in his back, “Come sit down, we’re gonna have dinner.”

“Let me just finish this one,” Jaebum grabs his cup, showing it to Youngjae. “Do you want one too? These are really good.”

The whiff of alcohol that leaves Jaebum’s moth makes Youngjae force him to put down his drink, “You’re getting drunk and Jinyoung’s gonna kill me.”

By dessert, Jaebum is already shit-faced and by the end of the rehearsal dinner, Youngjae is basically carrying him to their room.

“Ya kno’ what we coul’ do?” he drunkenly shouts, body toppling over his boyfriend’s.

Youngjae adjusts the grip on Jaebum’s waist, dragging him along the hall, “Can you just talk a little lower, please?”

“A'right,” he’s still shouting but then he slowly regulates the tone of his voice, “We coul’ get married too.” 

“You don’t believe in marriage, hyung.”

“’k. Then let’s buy a house by the rive’ and go fishin’ every Sunday mornin’. And let’s have kids. Three,” he holds up three fingers just for the emphasis, waving them in front of Youngjae’s face, “three boys.”

“Let’s get you out of your clothes first then, ‘k?” Youngjae says, dropping him over the bed.

“Yeah,” Jaebum sweetly smiles, letting himself fall on his back over the bed, “let’s make babies.”

“You are so drunk,” Youngjae chuckles. After he’s done stripping him, he helps Jaebum sit up and grabs a bottle of water from the minibar, “Here, drink this.”

Jaebum has as much control of his hands as a toddler. He grabs the bottle with both hands and it takes him three tries to take the bottle’s neck to his lips. Youngjae has only turned to put the water bottle on the bedside table when he hears Jaebum snoring. He looks at his boyfriend, finding him sprawled in bed, mouth hung open. After a lot of effort, Youngjae manages to drag Jaebum to his side of the bed. He takes a seat next to him and heaves a long sigh, feeling tired, when someone knocks on their door. It’s Joey, bringing Jaebum’s suit. (As both best men are supposed to be dressed exactly the same, Jaebum only had to send his measurements to Mark’s mother and let her take care of his suit).

“Emergency,” Joey says, handing the coat hanger with Jaebum’s suit to Youngjae.

“The suit?” Youngjae asks, looking at the clothes.

Joey shakes his head and quietly confides (even though that there is no one to listen to them), “Jinyoung and Mark don’t know but Kylie lost one of the rings. I can’t find it _anywhere_. Can you help me?”

Youngjae gets the gist of what Mark’s brother tells him. He nods his head, leaves the suit in the room and makes sure that Jaebum is dead asleep before following Joey. 

Leave it to a child to lose something small in the most recondite and absurd place that there it. After two hours of searching, both Youngjae and Joey already feeling exhausted and sleepy, they find the ring in one of the vases that decorate the tables of the bar. Joey gives Youngjae a tight hug, the heat, the fatigue, the lack of sleep, and the happiness for having found the ring, making him do it.

“And the other ring?” Youngjae asks, yawning, as they wait for the elevator’s doors to open.

Joey pulls the other wedding ring out of his pocket and shows it to Youngjae, “I’ll keep them both ‘til the wedding begins.”

~x~

The alarm rings and Youngjae wants to die; he didn’t get a wink of sleep. Los Angeles is almost two times hotter than Seoul and Youngjae hates the heat and all the sweat and stickiness that come along with it. The day before had been tiring from visiting the town to the rehearsal dinner, and to his and Joey’s late night treasure hunt. If the exhaustion and the heat weren’t reasons enough to keep Youngjae awake, every time he was about to fall asleep, Jaebum would awake up to throw up, and he too would get up, to tend to him. So, you can understand why he’s groaning while the alarm rings.

“Shut that thing off!” Jaebum whines.

“We have to get up,” Youngjae says, shutting off his phone’s alarm.

Now it’s Jaebum who groans, “Tell ‘em I’m dead, which I kinda am.”

“If you don’t get up Jinyoung will actually kill you,” Youngjae rolls over, lying on his stomach, pressing light kisses all over Jaebum’s face, “and I’d miss you.”

“Cremate my body and carry it around in a jar,” Jaebum mumbles into the pillow, “’cause I ain’t getting up.”

“You’re not?” Youngjae lies on top of Jaebum and nuzzles his nape. “But I want to see you in a suit.”

At this point Jaebum is messing around. “You will, at my funeral.”

“I’m going to take a shower and you’re coming too. Come on,” Youngjae gets out of bed and starts pulling Jaebum by the hand.

“Give me one good reason to.”

“I’m gonna there, naked. Need a better reason?”

Jaebum resembles a lion jumping on a defenseless deer when he gets out of bed and wraps his arms around Youngjae’s waist. He starts showering the side of his neck with kisses, Youngjae chuckling heartily, as they stumble on their way to the bathroom.

~x~

Jaebum is trying to keep a straight posture, hands clasped behind his back, but his head keeps on hanging low, his eyes closing. Youngjae, sitting in one of the first rows, notices it.

“Hyung!” Youngjae says, sotto voce.

His boyfriend jerks and clears his throat. He blinks a couple of times, trying to stay awake; he has a massive headache and the pill he took to soothe it is starting to take effect but it’s making him sleepy. Joey, standing across from him, spares him a glance.

“You’re ok?”

Jaebum nods his head and gives him a thumb up. Kylie and Leila stand at the end of the aisle, each holding a pillow but having no wedding rings. Joey runs to meet them and places the rings where they should be. He spots his brother and soon-to-be-brother-in-law standing outside the room, waiting for the two girls to reach the improvised altar where one of Mark’s cousins, who’s going to officiate the wedding, stands. The two girls are grinning as they walk down the aisle and assume their positions, one at each side of the best men. Only the guests stand up and Mark and Jinyoung walk in together. They stop at the end of the aisle and link arms with their mothers. The ceremony goes smoothly, and before they sign the papers and become officially married, they pull out of a paper, to read their vows. Mark worries because his vows aren’t even half as long as Jinyoung’s.

Jinyoung starts out, “The feeling hit me the moment we made eye contact in class. It was so immediate and powerful, far deeper and inexplicably beyond any calculation of time and place. You don't describe a feeling like that. You also can't replicate it or force it. You just let it flow in and around you. You go where it takes you. And you came to me, without a certainty that I’d welcome you into my life, without a certainty that it’d last. I've always thought that I had my life all figured out, had goals, aspirations, things I wanted to do, but when I met you, I learned what it was to dream. Today, with my whole heart, I take you as my husband, promising you to make all of your dreams come true, to dream those dreams with you. I promise to be faithful and supportive and to always make yours and our family's love and happiness my priority. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph, for the rest of my days.”

Mark swallows a lump in throat, hands shaking, as he starts reading his vows, “Today I take you to be my partner for life. I promise above all else to live in truth with you, to give you my hand and my heart and pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor as I join my life to yours. On this day, I give you my heart and my promise that I will walk with you, hand in hand, wherever our journey leads us, living, learning, loving... Together. Forever.”

A few people are heard weeping as they exchange rings. Jaebum and Youngjae lock eyes and for a moment there they forget that they are at a wedding and that there are more people in the room.

“I love you,” one quietly mouths.

“I love you too,” the other replies in the same tone.

Mark’s cousin holds out the pen and says, “Which one of you wants to sign first?”

It’s Mark the one who grabs the pen and signs his name on the paper, a bit messily, because he’s still overwhelmed. Jinyoung follows, his signature not looking any neater than Mark's.

“I now pronounce husband and husband. You may kiss each other.”

The room is in an uproar as the newly-married couple kisses. Everyone cheers and claps their hands.

“We’re married,” Jinyoung whispers against Mark’s lips, a smile so big that hurts his cheeks.

“We’re married,” Mark repeats, letting those words sink in.

~x~

Everyone is cheerfully chatting. It took them a lot of time to pose for the photographs but now everyone is relaxed, eating. By the end of the lunch (in which “ _end_ ” is a relative term because at weddings people seemingly don’t stop eating), Jinyoung notices someone by the door.

He leans to his husband’s side and quietly whispers, “Mark?” He signals with his head to the door.

Mark heaves a sigh and crosses the room to meet his friend Adam. As he gets closer, he notices that he’s holding hands with a little boy, three or four of age, and he just assumes that this is the son he had spoken of the day before.

“What’re you doing here?” Mark simply asks.

“Say ‘hi’ to Mark, Asher. He’s an old friend of Dad’s,” Adam says, looking down at the brown-haired boy. Asher shyly waves his hand and hides behind his father’s leg. “C’mon, nugget, say 'hi' to Mark.”

“Hi Mark,” Asher quietly croons.

“Hi Asher,” Mark goes down on one knee, being eye to eye with the boy, “how are you?” Asher shrugs. “Do you want some ice cream? My nieces are eating some really big, yummy ice cream cones,” he points at the two of them, happily licking the dessert, “Do you want one too?”

Slowly Asher steps from behind Adam’s leg and looks up at him, “Don’t look at me. You can have ice cream as long as you thank Mark for it.”

“Thank you,” he immediately says, looking at Mark.

Mark smiles and stands up, looking around; he stops one of the waiters, “Can you give him an ice cream too, please?”

“Of course,” the waiter replies, stretching out his hand at Asher, “come with me, little guy. Let’s pick you an ice cream and I’ll bring you right back.”

The two watch the boy being guided away from them, and before Mark can even get a word out, Adam speaks, “Look, I know you’re probably pissed off about yesterday, and you have everything right to be. I just, I came here to apologize."

"To apologize?"

"C'mon, Mark, you didn't think that it'd be easy for me not to see you for years and then learn that you're gay -"

"Is that so hard to take in?"

"No, but it was unexpected, that's all. I kinda feel that I've failed you... You were, you still are my best bro, you know that, and I feel so shitty knowing that you never told me that you're gay. I know why you never did, ‘cause we're all douchebags and we proved it to you yesterday. Seriously, how did you even hang around with us? You have always been the coolest guy I've known, and I know that if you had never left, you would've stayed by my side, no matter what. Like with Ash. The other guys didn't really help me when I learnt that Rachel was pregnant. I know you would've been a real friend to me, you would've helped me, and it sucks to know that I was never worth your trust... I guess I just came here to wish the best to you and your husband.”

Mark doesn’t find the words to speak. He simply pulls Adam for a hug, strongly clapping his back. “You have no idea how bad I felt yesterday, especially because of you.” They pull away and Mark continues, “Like you said, we were the closest and you just stared at me like I was confessing that I was a serial killer. You have no idea how glad I am that you’re here now.”

“I know this doesn’t solve anything, but I hope it’s a start.”

Asher comes running Adam, showing him an ice cream cone with three different flavored balls, “Look, Dad, a big ice cweam!”

“You’re gonna get a stomachache and your mother’s gonna kill me.”

“We have a couple of extra seats,” Mark starts, “if you guys want to stay for a while…”

“I have to take Ash to Rachel. I only have him on the weekends, so –”

“Right. But, maybe we can meet up another time. Hopefully by the end of the year, Jinyoung and I will already be living here."

Adam smiles, genuinely happy, “That’s great news, man. I hope we get to meet each other then.”

“I’ll let you know once we’re settled here,” he stretches out his hand. “I’m happy that you came, Adam.”

He concedes the handshake, “I’m happy I came too, Mark.”

“ _We_ , Dad,” Asher says. “I come with you!”

The two chuckle; Mark stretches his hand out to Asher as well, “I’m happy that you came too, Asher.”

Asher holds hands with his father and the two leave the hotel. Mark returns to his seat, unable to disguise his happiness; the day just turned even better.

~x~

Everyone has taken over the room to dance; Mark and Jinyoung’s first dance has a married couple had just happened moments ago. (Jinyoung was surprised by Jaebum and Youngjae singing and playing the song; both he and Mark loved it). Jaebum and Youngjae dance together (after Jinyoung's grandmother decided to let go of the youngest), swaying slowly as the band plays a ballad; they’ve danced together many times before, but this time it feels different. Jaebum looks far more awake and less hangover-ed so he notices the way Youngjae looks at him.

“What’s the matter?” he asks quietly.

“When we get back home, I’ll talk with the Principal and ask for a compensation. If he’s going to ruin my life in Korea, at least he’ll pay for it.”

Jaebum frowns, “Didn’t take you as that kind of person.”

“And I’m not. But I’ve realized that there’s no space for me there, back home. I talked with Jinyoung a few weeks ago, about the bureaucracy and whatnots of becoming a teacher here. He said I fill all the legal requirements. I just need to send my application to the schools. Once I get hired, I just need to take care of my visa. That’s why I need the money. I need it for the visa and for the relocation.”

“And you’re gonna leave me behind?”

Youngjae freezes from head to toe. “You – you don’t want to come with me? You’re always saying that you’d go with me anywhere, and now you –”

The way Jaebum kisses him, slow and soft, is comforting in ways that words can never be. The world falls away, along with all of their worries, troubles and problems. Jaebum always makes him feel like nothing else matters; it's an inborn talent of his, how he can convey the sense of reassurance and home. It's a small yet warm kiss. Youngjae honestly never knew a kiss so innocent could be so intimate and electrifying; they had shared many kisses, but none had felt like this. Every inch of him is saturated with love. When they pull back, Youngjae hesitantly looks at Jaebum. The swirls of emotion he sees in his boyfriend's eyes leave him breathless.

“You’re my whole world and I’m never letting you go,” Jaebum says.

Youngjae rests his forehead against Jaebum’s chest. Their small height difference is noticeable now as Jaebum rests his chin on top of Youngjae’s head. The two are swaying slowly again even though the song that is playing now isn't suited for slow dance.

“I look forward to have a house by the river,” Youngjae says and Jaebum smiles, “and to go fishing every Sunday morning.” Now Jaebum frowns; that’s something he has thought of but never told Youngjae. “And one day, we’re taking our three boys with us too.”

“How do you – how drunk was I last night?”

“Drunk enough to want to make babies with me,” Youngjae lightly chuckles, remembering the episode.

“We’d make cute babies, though. I can picture them with your pouty lower lip, big eyes –”

“They’d look cute with your tiny eyes too,” Youngjae says, looking up at Jaebum. “They kinda disappear when you smile and I love it.”

“Alright, but they’d have your cheeks –”

“But your jawline, hyung…”

They argue without any heat over whose physical and psychological traits would make the cutest child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, weddings... they just make you picture a happy life alongside someone else, don't they? :)


	9. Follow Me

Youngjae asks Jaebum how he dealt with saying goodbye to his students when he quit being a teacher (because the only thing Youngjae is going to miss is the kids; he’s not going to miss Jackson because he’s quitting too ‘cause, you know, he´s bisexual…). Jaebum tells him that he wrote a small note to each one of them and handed them over at the end of class, so Youngjae decides to do the same.

Even though it’s afternoon already, the mid-Summer heat makes it seem like the world is melting outside. Jaebum is watching an American movie without subtitles to try to refine his English skills but he’s not really paying any attention to it; he’s much more interested in following the fan’s movement. Youngjae sits next to him, scribbling little notes to each of his students.

“Can you finish that after dinner?” Jaebum blurts. “I’m getting hungry and I thought maybe we could go to that new Italian restaurant that opened down the block.”

“Let me just finish the fourth graders notes and we’ll go.”

He doesn’t take much time to finish said notes. When he pushes the papers and pen away and tells Jaebum to leave, he takes a trip to the bedroom, to put on a shirt. In the meantime Youngjae checks his email. Now that he’s counting down his last days at Gangnam Elementary, he finds himself getting more and more emails from the Principal and the Ministry of Education, annoyingly and hurtfully reminding him that the day of his resignation is coming. He has a new email in his inbox; it’s from Principal Michael Reier of Sunny Hills Elementary in Los Angeles. A few weeks ago, he had started sending his CV to schools in America, in chances of being selected for an interview. (Both Youngjae and Jaebum agreed to settle in Los Angeles, so that they could be closer to Mark and Jinyoung.)

“Youngjae?” Jaebum asks (for the third time already). Youngjae is completely blank-faced, staring at the laptop’s screen. “Jae!” he has to grab him by the shoulders and shake him.

“I got an email from a school in Los Angeles.”

“That’s amazing. What did they say? Are they gonna interview you?” Jaebum is grinning, but he can’t gauge Youngjae’s reaction. He’s a mixture of happy and concerned.

“Yes, via Skype. The Principal was kind enough to let me know that it’s in about an hour, _Korean Standard Time_.”   

“Well,” Jaebum shuts his laptop and pulls him off the couch, “let’s get you ready for your interview.”

After twenty minutes, the two are in the office room, clearing out the background (moving away the piano and the electronic drum set) so that the room looks a little tidier than what it actually is. Youngjae inhales and exhales multiple times, introducing himself in English over and over again.

“Ok, so Nora, Kunta and Odd are napping in our bedroom so they shouldn’t be a problem, I’m taking Coco out for a walk so that there’re no unexpected barks, and you,” Jaebum straightens Youngjae’s tie and puts a kiss on his forehead, “don’t be nervous. Just be yourself, ok?”

“Ok,” Youngjae says with a tiny voice, wiping his sweaty palms onto his pants.

“Call me once you’re finished and I’ll bring Coco and we go out for dinner.”

This time Youngjae only nods. “Wait, c’mere,” he beckons him before he leaves. “I need a kiss for good luck.”

Jaebum smiles and presses a chaste kiss on Youngjae’s lips. “Good luck, sunshine,” he wishes before giving him another peck. “See you in a bit.”

“Alright. See ya.”

Once the front door closes, Youngjae uncomfortably shifts in his seat and stares at the laptop’s screen, rehearsing lines in English. He seriously hopes he can hold a conversation in English without sounding too foreigner, he hopes he can impress the Principal, and he seriously hopes that his stomach won’t growl during the interview (he’s hungry and nervous, and fears that his stomach won’t cooperate).

(The interview is a success, Youngjae gets hired by Sunny Hills Elementary, but he’s only told the news some weeks later)

~x~

Later that night Youngjae receives a phone call from Yugyeom. He obviously answers it because the youngest is aware of time zones, and if he’s calling him in the middle of the night, then it’s a serious issue.

“Yugyeom? Yugyeom, slow down, alright?” Youngjae heaves a long sigh as the maknae pays no attention to what he’s saying and continues on talking. “Yugyeom, I can’t understand half of what you’re saying. Stop talking and take a breath.”

By now Youngjae is practically shouting at the phone, trying to get Yugyeom to listen to him; he had never heard him so upset and angry. Jaebum sits up in bed, having been woken up by his boyfriend’s powerful vocals.

“Tell me now what’s wrong ‘cause I didn’t understand a thing.”

“ _He’s breaking up with me._ ”

“What? Bambam is breaking up with you? Why?”

“ _He accepted being relocated to Los Angeles and I’m not leaving my crew here in New York to go with him._ ”

Youngjae sighs, “Have you –”

“ _I don’t think you understood what I said. He accepted being relocated, hyung,_ ” Yugyeom’s tone is gradually getting louder. “ _He didn’t have to go. His boss asked him and another woman who works with him and he just accepted it without telling me anything. He keeps on saying that this might be good for me too because there’re tons of artists in Los Angeles, and I’m not saying he’s wrong, but he made this decision without me. We’re settled here in New York, both have great jobs and he just wants me to throw everything away. He’s going to a different state with a job guaranteed but I’m not._ ”

“So you’re both gonna give up just like that?”

“ _He’s willing to try a long-distance relationship but it won’t work._ ”

“Gyeom, don’t give up yet. Give it a try. Remember that you both moved to a different country to chase something that only happens in a lifetime. You decided to do this together, so don’t throw it away just like that, ok? Give it a couple of days and then have a talk with him.”

“ _I don’t know if talking will solve anything. He’s already packing his things._ ”

“Be patient, alright? I’ll talk with him too. I won’t let you guys give up on each other just like this.”

“ _Thanks hyung. I’m sorry I woke you up. I just needed to get it out._ ”

“I understand, Gyeomie. I promise I’ll talk with Bambam, ok?”

“ _Ok. I’ll hang up now because I know it’s super late over there and I don’t want to bother you any longer._ ”

Once Youngjae puts his phone away, Jaebum asks, “What happened? Why they’re breaking up?”

“Bambam accepted being relocated to Los Angeles and Yugyeom doesn’t want to go with him because of his dance crew.” Youngjae heaves a long sigh, “I’m so worried about Yugyeom because once Bambam puts something in his head, there’s no stopping him, and Yugyeom is so frail. He doesn’t look like it, he always acts tough and indifferent but that’s just because he doesn’t know how to deal with feelings. I don’t think that talking with Bam will solve anything –”

“And it’s not up to you to solve anything, Jae. This is _their_ relationship so _they_ are the ones who have to deal with it. I know that they are your friends but –”

“They’ve been together since college, hyung. They’ve been together since ever, and it scares me how things can end so easily,” Youngjae says, slipping under the bed sheets.

Jaebum lies down in bed as well, cuddling Youngjae, “Sometimes people just need to take a step back before taking two forward. Very few things in life last forever, and we’re still so young. Maybe they just need some time apart to figure what’s best for them.”

“It’s just… it scares me how things can change so fast.” He turns in Jaebum’s embrace, looking him in the eyes, “I speak for myself. So many things changed in the past year but meeting you was definitively the best that happened to me, and it kinda scares me to think if… I’ve thought about _us_ quite a lot and it scares me to think that maybe one day we can end up like them.”

“I’ve thought about those things too. This will sound so cliché but,” Jaebum quietly confides, “I was nothing before you, so I’m not letting go of you. I had never thought I could ever feel this fulfilled but then you came along and changed my whole life. It scares me how much I need you and it scares me that you might not realize that, or that one day I can’t make you happy or you’ll get tired of me and you’ll leave me…” Tears pool in his eyes as he whispers, “I’ve broke a lot of hearts but I never had my heart broken. I’m so scared of the thought of you being my first heartbreak.”

“When I told you I’d gladly be all of your firsts, I didn’t mean being your first heartbreak. I’m the first person with whom you’ve shared a meaningful kiss, the first person you ever said _I love you_ to, the first person with whom you made love, I’m your first serious boyfriend, and if you let me I’ll be your everlasting love.”

“If you promise me that, you don’t have to be scared of anything.”

Youngjae leans forward, putting a kiss on Jaebum’s lips, “Promise… I’m yours, you’re mine.”

Jaebum feels the need to say those words too, “I’m yours, you’re mine.”

Their chests burn hot with their vow.

~x~

Jackson is lingering around Youngjae’s classroom, waiting for him. He’s looking out the window when he eventually enters. The two exchange a look and heave a sigh, not needing any words to understand each other. The school day hasn’t officially started but they already know today’s going to be rough; today is their last day teaching at Gangnam Elementary.

“Do you have your resignation letter ready?” Jackson asks.

Youngjae drops his satchel over his desk and stares at it, fearing that the piece of paper will burn a hole through the cloth of his bag and make its way to the Principal’s office.

“And you?”

At first he only nods but then he says, “I just came from his office. I never felt so…”

“Disgusted of yourself,” Youngjae starts, walking to him.

Jackson can only nod; the Principal didn’t know about his sexual orientation so when he handed over his resignation letter, he caught the man off guard.

“How did you deal with it?”

Youngjae shrugs, “My family. My friends. Jaebum.”

“It took me years to feel comfortable in my skin and he just ruined it all in less than five minutes.”

“Hyung,” Youngjae claps his shoulder and gives it a hard squeeze, “don’t let him bring you down. You just need to surround yourself with the people that matter the most in your life.”

“I am going back home to Hong Kong for the time being. I need my parents more than I’ve ever needed.”

“You need to do what you think it’s best for you.”

“A year ago you’d be near tears, begging me not to leave. I’m proud of you, Youngjae. You’ve grown so much in such little time,” Jackson smirks. “Now you’re the one giving me advices.”

“Jaebumie hyung brings out a bold side of me, I guess. With him, I feel that there’s nothing I can’t do, nothing I can’t try. If before I was always scared, diminished under someone else’s control, now I truly feel wanted and loved. It’s weird, I can’t explain it but,” Youngjae smiles a little, looking down at his feet, “I feel that we belong to each other without being possessive.”

“I envy you, not gonna lie. I want _that_ for myself too. A relationship like yours. Or like your friends. Even though they were talking about breaking up, they’re willing to give it a try. Or like Jaebum hyung’s friends. I want that for myself too, one day, to get married.”

“You will get all that because you’re deserve it. You’re one of the best people that there is in the whole world.”

Jackson pulls Youngjae for a hug, “I’m gonna miss you, otter. I promise to visit you in America.”

Youngjae hugs him a little tighter, “I’m gonna miss you too.” And if on cue, the school bell rings. “Well,” he takes a step back, “let’s start our last day. Good luck.”

 “You too. See you at lunchtime,” Jackson says, clapping Youngjae’s shoulder as he leaves.

~x~

Youngjae is so, so glad to know that Yugyeom and Bambam get to talk and decide to give their relationship a second chance. Bambam is still going to Los Angeles but only with the promise that his boyfriend will be joining him in the fall. (The Thai is already moving heaven and Earth to get a dance academy that will take his boyfriend as their new instructor)

Despite the ungodly hours that are in Seoul, Youngjae is truly happy to be Skyping with his friends (they are lying on the floor of the dance academy in New York just before Bambam’s departure to LA). The Thai is very proudly talking about his original clothes brand that he wants to create. He says that, because he still doesn’t have a Green Card, it’s harder to get financing. Still, he claims that bringing Double B to life is a dream that he’s going to make happen, regardless of the time it takes. Yugyeom is over the moon because he has recently choreographed a dance for Chris Brown (he fanboyed so hard that some of his friends from the dance crew filmed it from different angles) and tells him that he has been travelling quite regularly now, during the summer, to participate in dance competitions.

When Youngjae starts to yawn more frequently, his friends that are thousands of miles away realize that it’s really late.

“Uh, maybe we should hang up now, hyung,” Bambam says. “We’ll talk another time?”

“Yeah,” he yawns, “I’m starting to get really sleepy.”

They bid their farewells and terminate the call. Youngjae leans down, placing the laptop on the floor, and when he turns, ready to go to sleep, he faces his boyfriend, smiling at him, eyes tiny because of sleepiness.

“Can you pay some attention to your boyfriend now?”

“You look as sleepy as me,” Youngjae smiles, “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow morning.”

“I meant cuddling,” Jaebum says, hugging Youngjae, “but now you owe me a blowjob.”

Youngjae chuckles, “I’ll think about it.”

~x~

_(A few months later)_

The fall in Los Angeles isn't like the fall in Seoul. Cozy sweaters and hot beverages are something unthinkable when it's 78 F outside. The trees don't turn to gorgeous colors and leaves are not gusted away by the wind mainly because all the trees that are around are palm trees. The sun is a scorching ball up in the clear blue skies and the only chance of rain is during the "winter". Youngjae feels like he's melting on a daily basis but he still goes to the beach, in an attempt to get an even tan. He remembers how terribly hot spring had felt last time he was in LA – it was for Jinyoung and Mark's wedding – but he didn't expect the fall to be this hot either. (He's already mentally crying, imagining the summer heat).

But none of it matters today. The heat, the sweat, (his broken AC), his rowdy but good-natured students, none of it matters. Today he's picking up Jaebum from the airport, and he feels like his heart will burst with happiness. After four long months, he’s finally getting to see his boyfriend again. Jaebum had to stay in Seoul to handle the sale of their apartment, the sale of his rock school, and to slowly pack their things and send them to LA. Youngjae was accepted by Principal Michael Reier and was now a teacher at Sunny Hills Elementary. Honestly, he didn’t expect to be accepted so quickly, so his whole life turned upside down. He moves to the LA upon his employment and, for the first weeks, Youngjae only knows the route that takes him from the apartment to the school, the way to Bambam and Yugyeom’s apartment, and the way to the supermarket. He feels utterly lost in the Californian urban jungle, and has a hole in his heart, being away from Jaebum (even though the Skyped every single day). But he’s getting to hug him and kiss him again today.

Youngjae stands on the tip of his toes to look over the people’s heads. His heart beats anxiously as he expects Jaebum to show up at any moment now. He can’t wait to take him to their apartment, to show him around the city, to live a life with him, here. He just can’t wait, smile so big that it seems like it'll rip his face in two. And then he sees him, scurrying through the dozens of people’s faces. Youngjae doesn’t even give Jaebum a chance to find him; he runs to him instead and the two just hug right then and there. It looks like a scene from the movies. Jaebum leaves his luggage abandoned behind him to fully wrap his arms around his boyfriend, burying his nose in the crook of his neck. They've been dating for two years now, but it feels like they're meeting each other for the first time again. In each other’s arms they feel at home.

“I missed you so much,” Jaebum breaths, his moisty breathe tickling the side of Youngjae’s neck.

“I missed you too, hyung.”

Youngjae pulls back just enough to take a good look of his face – his sharp jawline, his hair pushed back, the little twin moles over his left eye, his long neck, his prominent Adam's apple, his nice lips, his charming smile – and realizes he looks exactly the same he did when they first met. Jaebum realizes that his boyfriend still looks the same – his big eyes, his chubby cheeks, his fluffy hair, his gorgeous smile, the mole under his eye, the mole on his neck, his plump, kissable lips – and smiles at the realization.

“The blond hair suits you,” Jaebum comments, running his fingers through a few strands of Youngjae’s hair. He leans forward and presses a kiss to his forehead.

“I know you’re tired but I’m so happy you’re finally here. I want to show you our apartment, and take you around the city so you know where everything is, and where our friends live.”

“Lead the way,” Jaebum smiles and holds out his hand, “I’m so happy to be here I don’t even feel tired.”

Their fingers naturally intertwine as they leisurely make their way out of the airport, happily chatting.

( _“To new beginnings and to a good, happy life, together,”_ Jinyoung, later that night, says, as they – Jinyoung, Mark, Jaebum, Youngjae, Bambam and Yugyeom – toast at a downtown bar, clinking their glasses together.)

(In two years, Jackson completes the friends group by moving to LA as well. He’s charmed by the beauty of a Latin-American woman, Natalia, who he meets when she’s visiting China. Resembling Jinyoung and Mark’s love story, he follows her to her home country, and ends up staying, in the company of his friends and the love of his life.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more chapter left...


	10. Just Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sort of an epilogue; set some 10 years in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had the most fun writing this. Really.  
> I'm really, really happy that many people liked this story.

[Natalia](https://d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.net/blogs/1/2014/11/understand-mexican-women-1200x850.jpg) moved from Mexico to America when she was six-years-old. Ever since she was a little child, she was always very creative, drawing being her favorite form of art. Her talents, however, had always been disregarded by her family; she's the youngest of four and everyone wants her to be like her big sister who is a doctor (those are some pretty big shoes to fill), but she was having none of it. She always wanted to make a life out of her drawings, and since she didn’t have her family's support, she tried her best to succeed on her own. She finished high school and worked three part-time jobs to pay the bills. She'd let he world know of her talent through social media, and that was how she got herself a job as a children's books illustrator. With her paychecks she has managed to get her parents a better house and to offer a car to her brother for his birthday.

When she's on vacation in Hong Kong, she accidentally bumps into a passerby who is none other than Jackson Wang. Chivalrously and friendly as always, he strikes up a conversation with her and invites her for dinner at the first restaurant he sees with the promise of guiding her through China's cuisine. During dinner, she tells him what she does for a living and how she was never supported by her family; Jackson falls for Natalia right them and there. He tells her his story; of how ever since he was a kid, he was always into sports, and had even been part of Hong Kong's national fencing team, but that his parents never supported his dreams of being an athlete (and they also wanted him to be like his big brother who is now a successful businessman). So he tells Natalia how he got a PE teacher's degree in America and how he took a leap of faith and took a job offer in South Korea.

It’s not very clear how things unfold, but Jackson ends up in Los Angeles, looking for Natalia. Because he’s polyvalent (PE teacher, Zumba instructor and personal trainer), he didn’t fear taking the risk of moving to a different country. Besides, his friends lived there and he knew that he could count on them for anything. He finds her and they date for a while, then move in together, and then they adopt some pets, namely two dogs, Mia and Belle, a cat, Ty, and a parakeet, Asa. (When Jackson wants to get a donkey, Natalia has to step in and stop him. He ends up going to the zoo and adopting Michael, the donkey; Natalia is greatly happy to know that that’s where the donkey stays, at the zoo.). After three years of being together, neither their friends nor family finding it surprising to know that they are expecting. 

[Tomás](https://cdn-geo.dayre.me/JAaL2S7qF4T8nx5ebtNG.jpg) is now a four-year-old boy, and, regarding to physical appearance, he looks very much like Natalia and very little like Jackson. Unlike his father, the boy is fearless (he wants, like his mother did when she was young, to jump off La Quebrada, an 80 feet high cliff in Mexico; Jackson is trying really hard to dissuade him from the idea). He’s artsy and sporty (he learns the piano with Jaebum and takes fencing classes every week). He’s a very curious boy, and is friendly, energetic and talkative like Jackson. And just like his father, Tomás is already gallant and gentle.

~x~

When they first move to LA, Mark and Jinyoung move in with the Tuan’s. Jinyoung can’t help but to feel like an unwanted guest even though Mark’s parents treat him like a prince. Mark understands why Jinyoung feels so uneasy; he wants to move to a house that is theirs, where they have their things, and where they can live as a married couple, now unpreoccupied with people knowing that they are gay. Those thoughts are put on hold because Mark goes to police academy, as he had planned to do when he was in high school. In the meantime, Jinyoung is working two part-time jobs (one at a library, the other as a cashier at the supermarket) and studying for his Bar examination. He passes the exam with flying colors, and thanks to a friend of Mark’s dad, he gets employed at a law firm only a month after the examination sitting.

After almost a year of living with Mark’s parents, Mark and Jinyoung move out and get to spend their first Christmas at their new house which is just some blocks down the Tuan’s home. They are extremely happy with how things between them are, but they feel like they need something more. They agree that they are not in the best place to adopt just yet, so they choose to foster a child instead. Six-year-old Dylan stays with Mark and Jinyoung for almost two years, and right after him, they foster eight-year-old Penny. The third child that they foster is two-year-old Emma, and originally she was only meant to stay for a few months. She ends up staying for a whole year. Mark and Jinyoung feel a different connection with Emma than what they did with the previous children they fostered. A court law states that Emma has to be given up for adoption since none of her family members accept to take her in after the death of her parents. Mark and Jinyoung immediately manifest their interest in adopting her, and as they had been fostering her already, the adoption process gets concluded faster than expected.

With Mark’s promotions and Jinyoung’s impressive work performance, the Park-Tuan’s money income is enough for them to feel more comfortable in life than ever. They move to a bigger house in the suburbs with one idea in mind: they want an extra room so that they can welcome a second child. When they announce that they are looking forward to adopt a baby at birth, Mark’s sisters jokingly say they are fucked in the head ( _“Why would you want to have a screeching child when you can adopt one of what age you want? Sure it’s cute to watch them grow up, teach them how to walk and talk, but still.”_ ). They are chosen by a woman who never wanted children and finds herself pregnant at the odd age of 45. The pregnancy is already risky as it is, and on top of that, the woman is stressing. After giving birth, she’s in tears, apologizing over and over again to Jinyoung and Mark because yes, she wanted, for the lack of a better word, to get rid of the baby, but not like it happened. Their baby boy, Eugene, is born premature, with unilateral hearing loss, and spends his first months of life at the NICU. The couple takes turns staying with Eugene; Mark spends his time praying, and Jinyoung, crying.

[Emma](http://mochaparents.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Why-Black-Kids-Need-Diversity-in-Preschool.jpg) is now six-years-old and she’s an amazing child, and a great big sister, always very caring and responsible when it comes to her little brother. She's calm, amiable and is always smiling. She is very clever because Jinyoung, particularly him, tries his best to give her the tools to perceive and understand the world as it is, not as people tell her it is; he wants his children to have their own opinions, and to be able to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. [Eugene](https://mybabyweight.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/picture-075.jpg) is 18-months-old, his personality is still in the making, but everyone can already tell that he's definitively much more cheeky and daring than Emma. And he also defies the odds pretty much every day; the pediatrician had told Mark and Jinyoung that, because he was born premature, he wouldn't develop at the same pace as children of his age. However, Eugene's height and weight are appropriate, he doesn't have major disabilities (except for his hearing impairment), he walks just fine, talks like a parrot, and has no problems socializing or relating with other people. The pediatrician is always congratulating Mark and Jinyoung because they are the reason why Eugene is developing healthily.

~x~

For eight years, Yugyeom and Bambam enjoy everything that Los Angeles has to offer. Yugyeom is a dance instructor at one of the best dance academies of the State, and Bambam managed to create his own clothing brand, Double B. Their jobs give them the opportunity to travel a lot and they are quite literally living the dream. Since the two are the only couple that does not have children, they are often taking on the babysitters’ role, so that their friends can go on date nights. However, the day does come when they start to develop some maturity. They don't get married but they talk about adopting a baby because they are tired of being the cool uncles that babysit their borrowed niece and nephews. They want to experience the ups and downs of parenthood as well.

A teenage girl is about to give birth and chooses, among many couples, Bambam and Yugyeom. The first sign that proves their friends that they have matured is when they announce the name they’ve chosen for their child: Ava, nothing offbeat or Hollywood-esque about it. [Ava](http://www.madeeveryday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/a21.jpg%20%20) has far more stamps in her passport than what a normal kid of her age would have. The two-year-old frequently travels with her dads, whether it is to visit her grandparents in South Korea or Thailand, to accompany appa on his dance competitions, or going with pôr to meetings abroad because of his clothing line. She’s very independent and knows exactly what she wants; she can’t quite yet express things, but she gets her point across whether by gestures or sulking.

She is curious and fearless; she falls, gets up and carries on like nothing has happened. She runs to the windows to watch the thunderstorms and holds little bugs in her hands, proudly showing them to everyone. Yugyeom’s patience seems infinite; he explains things to her over and over again, and helps her get over any fear she has because she’s his little girl, the apple of his eye, and he’ll always help her. However, he already fears the day when she starts first grade. Boyfriends? He has a laugh and Bambam has to spend the rest of the day telling him that he won't let him buy a shotgun to kill Ava's future boyfriends. Yugyeom is the kind of dad that tells their daughters that boys have cooties and that they should stay away from them. Bambam is the total opposite; he's very laid-back and goes to great extents to make Ava laugh. He _actually_ feels sick if he doesn’t see or speak with her for over a day. All in all, Yugyeom and Bambam are absolutely whipped and would do anything for their little girl.

~x~

With time, Youngjae gets used to the heat of LA. He starts to appreciate the golden glow that it leaves on their skins and he greatly appreciates the welcoming, understanding environment that they live in. Jaebum shares his thoughts. Youngjae works as a teacher at Sunny Hills Elementary and gets a degree in music therapy (but for now he doesn’t practice; his only focus is on being a teacher). Jaebum rents a space downtown and can now say that he owns a proper rock school. He teaches guitar and drums and gives piano initiation classes to anyone who wishes to learn; his youngest student is 7-years-old and his oldest 63.

They move from the apartment downtown to a modest-looking house in the suburbs and meet with their friends pretty much every weekend. (Because they now live in a house with a backyard, they’ve lost Coco, Nora, Kunta and Odd a couple of times). For their fifth anniversary they take a trip to Peru and on the top of Machu Picchu they exchange love promises... and rings. The day after their return to LA, they sign the papers and legalize their wedding. But if getting married was a spontaneous decision (it's not like any of them believed in marriage or found it necessary to tie the knot), their decision of starting a family isn't taken so lightly.

They talk with Mark and Jinyoung, to know everything about the process of adopting. They go to the same adoption agency and start the process. They are approved and the worker then makes the usual questions; preference of gender, age, and if they'd willing to adopt a child with any disability, or to adopt siblings. Youngjae and Jaebum tell her that any age would be fine, and that, even though they're leaning more towards adopting boys, they wouldn't mind having a girl. About children with disabilities, they both admit that it'd be a little harder for them, as first parents, to assume such responsibility but they wouldn't back away from an adoption because of it, same thing regarding siblings.

A few weeks later the worker calls them, saying she has found them a match. _It's happening_ , sirens and fireworks can be heard in the distance. When parents are confronted with the coming of a child, whether biological or adopted, they always say that they felt over the moon with the news. Even though it's not exactly a lie, that their happiness can't even be translated to words, no parent talks about the spine-chilling anxiety and the countless concerns and doubts that take over them. Youngjae and Jaebum feel no different. Now add the 'new daddies' factor to all that and you get an idea of the stirred cocktail of emotions that they go through. Oh, right, and multiply all that by three. Yes, _three_. They are mute when the woman says that their match are Liam, Miles and Noah, three-year-old identical triplet boys.

( _“This is your fault,” Youngjae says in a joking tone. “You wanted three boys –”_

_“I didn’t ask for them all at once!”_

_“Relax, Bumie,” he chuckles, “I was kidding. But you’re not getting cold feet about the adoption, are you?”_

_“No, of course not. I’m just, well, panicking. Three kids! All at once! What if –”_

_Youngjae shuts him up with a kiss._ )

Jaebum and Youngjae remember when they first saw them; three little boys, tightly holding each other’s hands, having no one else but each other in the whole world (they had been given up for adoption just because their parents wanted one child, not three). They carried their belongings in a trash bag, and they looked frightened and sad. When the triplets get officially adopted, just a few weeks after they turned four, they look amazed with the fact that each of them has a bed, non-matching, brand new clothes (Jaebum and Youngjae refuse the idea of dressing them all the same; they are triplets, yes, but they three independent human beings that deserve to be treated as such), and toys. They are on the verge of tears, touching and grabbing things, asking “ _Is this mine? Just mine?_ ” and Jaebum and Youngjae explain to them that they should share because that's what nice people do, but that they _don’t have to_ if they don't want; they deserve to have things that they call theirs and only theirs.

[The triplets](https://pyjammydotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/untitled-21.jpg?w=764%20) are now seven-years-old and, well, these days they are rocking blue (Miles), red (Noah) and green (Liam) hair colors.  Liam stills has a slight lisp and his front teeth have a yellow spot from a damaged baby tooth. Just like appa, he’s great at playing video games and is obsessed with playing soccer and drums. He’s easily bribed with strawberries and takes great pride in being the oldest. He enforces his status of first born by sitting on top of his brothers or getting them in a headlock. Miles is a bit of a know-it-all, he’s very strong-willed and is the skinniest of the three (because he’s a picky eater). He’s the stereotypical middle child; he gets bullied by his older brother and bullies his younger brother in revenge. He loves M&Ms, math, and to play basketball. From abeoji he’s grown fond of the arts of photography and guitar, and has decided that he wants to be a famous movie maker when he grows up. Noah was born the smallest and frailest, but now he’s the tallest of the three. He’s a vacuum cleaner when it comes to eat and if he wasn’t as hyper as he is, he’d probably be obese by now. He’s a bit of worrier but he’s also the friendliest (not that his brothers aren’t), making friends at every place he goes. He likes to play and watch baseball, plays the piano, and if he’s offered a pepperoni pizza, he’ll do just about anything.

Between the pairs of worn-out shoes that they leave by the entrance hall (and that cause appa and abeoji to stumble on them), and the never-ending battle to keep the fridge stocked for longer than a week, the boys grow healthy and smart with each day that passes. They all learn an instrument and all are part of a sports team (which requires an incredible teamwork between Jaebum and Youngjae to get the kids to the classes and practices; they did say they’d let their kids do what makes them happy, so they put on an extra effort – and so do the kids), and all excel in school and in Korean classes. Youngjae and Jaebum feel blessed for having been matched with these amazing three souls that turned their lives upside down.

~x~

It becomes a habit for the friends to gather at Mark and Jinyoung's for a Sunday barbecue. Jaebum, Youngjae and the kids are already running late because they went fishing in the morning and, well, Jaebum slipped and sprained his ankle (stuff that happens when you are being a fool to make your husband and children laugh…). Youngjae helps Jaebum to the passenger’s seat while the triplets quickly gather the fishing rods and the tackle box and shove them in the trunk. It is in times like this that Youngjae despises the LA traffic; he’s huffing and furiously honking, trying to drive to the hospital as quick as he can. In all honesty Youngjae is the only one who’s panicking; Jaebum keeps calm and his calmness is what keeps the triplets tranquil (well, he does wince every now and then, but that’s when he moves his foot and it hurts).

The triplets stay in the waiting room while Youngjae insists on accompanying Jaebum to every single place he’s going. After the X-ray, the doctor confirms that his ankle is only sprained. However, the woman isn’t too sure if Jaebum is really hurting because he keeps on smiling through his pain. He _is_ in pain but he can’t help but to smile, seeing Youngjae so frantic. The doctor tends to the few scratches that Jaebum has, resulting from having slipped on the rocks. She splints his ankle and sends him home with a prescription of painkillers, and crutches.

When they step out of the doctor’s office, Youngjae presses his hand flat against the wall and works on breathing in and out.

“Do you need a glass of water? Or a sedative?”

“Shut up,” he mumbles, smacking him on the arm. “Don’t you ever do that again. You scared me.”

“It’s just a sprained ankle, Jae.”

“It could have been worse. C’mon,” he looks back, motioning with his head, “let’s go home.”

“Home? No, we’re going to Mark and Jinyoung’s.” Youngjae looks back, eyes narrowed. “Oh, come on, sunshine, I just need to put ice on it and keep the ankle elevated. I’ll sit on their freaking porch swing all day if you want me to.”

“You better,” he warns, his tone, however, not carrying much of a threat.

Jaebum chuckles, “You are so panicky, Jae.”

“Be thankful. If I weren’t, you and I would have never met.”

“So you’re trying to say that if you weren’t so panicky our relationship would be _on the rocks_ by now?” Youngjae rolls his eyes. The two are making the way to the waiting room to collect the triplets, Youngjae walking at the same pace as Jaebum’s. “But, you know, if it makes you feel any better, when I first met, I too _fell_ for you. I fell for you first time I laid eyes on you.”

He tries not to laugh and ends up letting out a snorting sound, “Stop being cheesy, hyung.”

“But it’s true. I guess we fell in love _by accident_.”

Youngjae looks back, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips, “And I couldn’t be happier for that accident.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd probably be saying bye but I know I'll be back shortly with more 2jae fics 'cause they ruined my life and yeah... See you next time.  
> Saranghaeyo! <3


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